


Piece By Piece

by Freezy_is_gay



Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Chris and my Oc but heads... A lot, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, M/M, My Cringe-worthy OC is cringe-worthy and one of the mains of the story, Nivanfield, Post-RE6, Rating has changed, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-07
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-01-10 06:42:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 26,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12293472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freezy_is_gay/pseuds/Freezy_is_gay
Summary: "I did it for the B.S.A.A... For the Future."~Piers Nivans.Pain - mental suffering or distress. - "the pain of loss"Chris Redfield feels a lot of pain after the supposed loss of his ACE sniper, Piers Nivans. Only Claire and a few other old faces can only try to help pick him back up. But Chris NEEDS Piers.After a few months, an old face turns up, proving the fact that people can in fact change, Chris just needs to follow that advice, given by an old family friend.Just when he finds the one he needs, it proves to be a lot more difficult to pick up the pieces than he thought it would be. He gives himself the challenge of fixing the one he loves, should he else be lost to the old memories trapped behind the bars of his mind.---Angst, with a cringy oc. This could mean trouble...





	1. Chapter 1

Chris Redfield wasn't a man of many words. However, when he did speak, his words were full of hope and compassion. Normally used in a mission towards his comrades, towards…Piers.

Yet here he stood, rambling on about the men who passed, how they had fought to save the world, to save the future, just to pass the time. He spoke about who'd passed in chronological order, so it was no surprise to the people, that Chris was on the verge of breaking down when he reached Piers' empty casket.

He exhaled, placing a shaking hand against the surface of the casket. People had already paid their respects to the soldiers, many bouquets of flowers surrounding the deceased. Chris still had yet to do that, and decided that he would do, when he was alone.

He bit his lower lip, fighting back the sob that threatened to show itself, as he looked down at the photo of his partner. He was still so young when he died.

Piers' mother and father made the trip to see their son one last time, but upon hearing that the body was never found, made them all the more devastated. They had spent at least an hour, kneeling at the foot of the casket, apologizing for how they were never there, how they should have contacted him sooner. Chris had kneeled with them, praising them for how they raised an amazing warrior, son, and partner, and that he missed him just as much as they did.

They had thanked him, for looking out for their child in the battlefield, yet Chris followed on to correct them, saying that throughout their journey, it was Piers who had in fact, looked out for him.

Chris glanced over at the parents, who sent sympathetic looks towards him. He inhaled a shaky breath and exhaled it, looking over to Claire who replicated the same look given by the Nivans'.

"And finally, Piers Nivans." Chris spoke, his voice faltering slightly. "A kid who died at a young age, and still had a lot of hope for him in the future." He closed his eyes, a tear running free, down his cheek.

"He was my second-in-command, and he was a man of few words, like myself, I suppose." He glanced towards the parents of Piers, before looking into the crowd and continuing,

"He sacrificed his life for future, for the B.S.A.A. Knowing that-" Chris screwed his eyes shut, more tears flowing down his cheeks. "-That t-the world would be a better place. And he was right." His voice cracked, man was he having a hard time right now.

"The world has changed for the better, because he gave it that little push…That little push, in the right direction." Chris bit his lip, as a sob escaped his lips suddenly, into the mic. Claire, aware of her brothers distress, spoke,

"He was like a brother to us, visiting us, as and when he could." She paused, taking a breath, before speaking up again, "In between missions with Chris, he would treat us to dinner, either buying us take out or even taking us to fancy restaurants. He was a lively boy, one that we'd already accepted as part of the family." Claire gave her brother a side hug, noticing the light in his eyes come back as he recalled the memories.

He straightened up, breathing steady again, and said, "The B.S.A.A, was more than just a group that protected people and the world from disasters... it was a unit, a family, who swore to protect each other, no matter what the cost…And it still is to this day." Chris' lips pulled into a smile, something that hadn't occurred since the death of Piers.

"I made a promise to all the men we see here today." Chris breathed, "I promised to fight for them, and never give in. Only retire when my body and my mind can't take no more. And I will keep that promise, to the day I die." Chris locked eyes with his sister, "No matter what happens."

Chris' smile faltered and he placed his hand on the frame containing the badge and photo of Piers.

"Feel free to pay any last respects to those who've died. Thank you for coming here today, and may you feel God's presence for all eternity. Thank you again." Chris finished, stepping away from the stage, holding the photo frame in hand.

He made his way to the two adults whom were still in tears.

"He tried to survive, dear. We know this."

"He has to be alive, he has to."

Chris let out a last shaky breath, before clearing his throat and announcing his presence. The two turned to him, seemingly stopping their conversation in order to hear the captain's words.

Chris held out the frame.

"For you. To remember your son by."

They said nothing. Only staring at the frame in utter bewilderment. The woman, though hesitant at first, reached a hand out and placed it against the glass. The wall separating her hand and the proof of her son's passing felt soft on her finger tips. More tears dropped onto the glass, splashing against Chris' gloved fingers.

"You know..."

He looked up, seeing that the woman was speaking.

"I sometimes wondered if you two were more than just working partners."

"Ma'am?" Chris looked startled, with wide eyes, and his grip loosening on the frame.

"I mean…" The woman chuckled, wiping her tears. "When he did talk to us, on the rare occasion, he would tell us about how much you inspired him. How badly he wanted to be like you." She looked up at Chris with expecting eyes.

"Did you give him the chance? To take your place should you retire...I mean…"

"Yes." Chris spoke, barely above a whisper.

"How could I not?"

The woman looked up, wide eyed.

"He was so smart, he took care of me…never left my side-"

"He liked you." Chuckling ensued. "I mean…you were his captain, how could he not like you?"

"Can I tell you something about your son, ma'am?" Chris asked, smiling slightly. "Both of you."

They shared a nod.

"When we completed one of our first missions together, I got amnesia. I'd lost most of my memories. I didn't really know who I was. And for a while, I had no idea what I was doing."

The two in front of him, payed their attention to his words, happy to hear about their son.

"I started drinking my unknown sorrows away, every day at the pub. Drinking until I'd pass out, or get into a fight…" Chris smiled sadly at the memories, before looking to the subject of the stories parents, and continuing, "One day, Piers found me. Told me it was hard to get a good steak around there. I was drunk again, I'd gotten violent. But-" He looked away, "he stopped me. Told me that after 6 months of searching, he found…Well…this." Chris gestured towards himself.

"I felt ashamed at first, told him that I didn't deserve my title as captain. And for those six months of searching for me, he had been captain of the Alpha team. And I was proud of him." His smile faltered.

"When we were in Lanshiang…Well…more in the oil rig on the outskirts of Lanshiang, I'd offered my title to him. Told him that, once I'd retired, he'd have to take my place…I trusted him better than anyone else." Chris paused, taking a moment to breath. "He said no. Told me that I couldn't retire. I thought it was because he didn't want to leave my side…He said he was scared…The he wasn't prepared for that responsibility…"

"And then…he died…didn't he?"

Chris couldn't face them as he spoke, "Yes."

He felt the frame leave his hand. Then, after a few seconds, felt it being slid back to it's original position. He looked up.

"You'd be better off keeping it then."

He couldn't be anymore shocked.

"I'm sorry…What?" His voice cracked, and his head tilted as he looked towards the two in front of him, the man was speaking this time.

"Well…My wife and I both know how much you cared about him." He gestured towards the frame. "This is just gonna hurt you if you let him go."

Chris stared at the frame, and the image inside. His brows furrowed in confusion. He absentmindedly started pressing his fingers against the glass.

The face of Piers stared back at him. Mocking him, shaming him.

Still, Chris pulled the frame to his chest, nodding at the two in front of him. He bid them goodbye, then watched as they left the building, shortly after everyone else.

He heard his sister's footsteps hit the floor of the cathedral, the sound echoing around them and telling them that they were alone. Chris turned and suddenly found himself in the arms of his sister.

He broke.

The sobs came suddenly, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"I miss him, Claire!" His voice had risen an octave, as the sobs were in control of his body. They racked his body, making his shoulder shake violently.

Meanwhile, Claire tried to suppress tears of her own, going onto her knees and pulling Chris with her. Chris clutched onto her shoulders, sobs still managing to escape.

"I know, Chris…I miss him too." Claire let out a sigh of her own, before feeling the tears slowly fall down her cheeks. She bit her lip and screwed her eyes shut, burying her face into the crook of her brother's neck.

The warmth of the siblings made them pull apart from their hug, still at an arm's distance. They stared at each other for another second or two, before standing up and sharing another quick hug.

"Oh…Before I forget." Claire, tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear, spoke suddenly.

She reached into her black blazer pocket, rummaging through what seemed to be her essentials. The shuffling of keys and other metal caught Chris' attention. He tilted his head, trying to catch a glimpse of what his sister was grabbing.

He sighed, closing his eyes. Not too long afterwards, felt his hand being pulled on and closed around an object. He opened his eyes, looking straight towards his now closed hand, then towards Claire, who was sending him a small smile. She had her hand atop his, looking down towards them.

"We found these on the coast…Not too far away from where he was…last seen…by you." Claire shook her head, "If you don't want them, I- I can understand why… I jus-"

"You don't need to say anything, Claire." Chris placed a closed hand on Claire's shoulder and continued, "But I thank you…For this." He finished, gesturing towards the chain in his callous hand. He glanced down at it and smiled, slowly wiping the drying tears off his cheeks.

He looked up again, eyes meeting his sisters.

"I need to be alone for a minute…Please."

Claire nodded, before placing her hand on Chris' shoulder.

"Would you like me to wait for you?"

Chris shook his head, then spoke again.

"I might be a while."

Claire nodded again, releasing Chris' shoulder from her grasp and turning on her heel. Her feet collided with the tiles on the floor to the door, only silencing when she turned to look back at Chris and wave. A small smile grazed her lips before Claire turned again and walked out the already opened door. It creaked as it closed, clicking, and leaving Chris with himself and the silence of the room.

A sigh escaped his lips. He knelt on the ground, placing the picture frame and the dog tags in front of him. He wiggled his sore fingers before his eyes, watching as the skin slightly glistened in the afternoon sun that pierced the windows. He clasped his hands together, in an almost praying form.

He looked up towards the ceiling, biting his lip, looked down, then spoke.

"Mom…Dad. Promise me you'll look out for my men, tell them that I never wanted them to get hurt." He took a deep breath before adding, "Please."

His hands dropped to his sides as his head slumped forwards. He held his head in his hands and massaged his temples in slow, circular motions. Then he dropped his hands again. They smacked against the ground, the skin stinging slightly.

He absentmindedly reached forwards, grasping the cold chain in his otherwise, warm hand. He drew it to his chest, placing it against his heart and murmuring a few words to himself, before placing the chain in his pocket and grabbing the photo frame. He took a look at the picture inside again, then smiled.

It had been a picture taken not too long into Piers' recruitment. He'd been smiling in the picture as one of the older recruits had grabbed him by the shoulders and yanked him into one of the "annual" selfies. It had been a shocker to everyone to see Piers join a selfie, but everything went back to normal in a matter of seconds.

Chris let out a small sigh of content, a smile stitching its way to his lips. It was a good memory. It was a moment where nothing else mattered…the worlds safety wasn't at stake, and the B.S.A.A weren't risking their lives. They were just sitting there, being…happy. Acting like kids and enjoying the lives they probably wouldn't see the next day. It was a moment where people could be themselves, and come together…be a family.

Chris' mind went back to Piers. There'd been a few moments where Piers had lost his keys, or was kicked out by his roommate and had to kickback at Chris' and Claire's house for a few nights. It was fun. Every moment spent with Piers would make Chris feel more…human.

The smile dissipated from his face immediately at the thought of his passed second-in-command. He shook his head, then stood up. He rubbed his knees with a free hand and turned to leave. Before stepping towards the door, he glanced behind him and looked at the caskets, nodding to them and walking away.

\-------

It was quiet when Chris stepped inside his and his sisters' house. He walked into the hallway, listening for any movement around him. The quiet echo of the TV resonated from the living room, so he decided to look for Claire there first. The floorboards echoed beneath his feet with every step he took. He flinched.

The sound of old videos was playing in the living room. The sound of Piers' voice was audible. Chris swallowed the lump in his throat and walked into the room.

Claire was sat on the sofa, her feet sprawled across the seats. She was facing away from Chris, letting him look at the screen. He smiled. It was a good memory.

He sighed, walking over to the sofa and sitting down next to Claire's feet. Claire looked up from the camera in her hands, pausing the video and placing it on the floor. She looked away.

"So…You bought the stuff back I see." She gestured to the items that were placed on the coffee table next to Chris. He nodded, turning to face Claire. He gave a small smile, before leaning forward and placing an elbow against his knee. His face contorted to one of thought, as his gaze went downcast.

He glanced at the clock dangling on the wall.

_9:45pm_

His eyebrows lifted as he tore his eyes away from the clock and towards his sister, who had now tucked her knees to her chest. She tucked her head behind her knees and closed her eyes. Crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back into the sofa, Chris sighed. He sank into the sofa, relaxing as the material surrounded his thighs. He closed his eyes, opening his mouth to speak.

"So what did you do in the cathedral?" Claire quickly asked, picking the camera up from the carpet and handing it to Chris, who took and placed it on the coffee table, along with the photo frame and the dog tags. Chris shrugged, before standing up and looking at Claire.

"Coffee?" He asked, ignoring the subject matter.

Claire stood up. "Chris..."

"I'll take that as a no then."

" **Chris**." Claire pushed, standing up from her seat on the sofa and walking around the table in the middle towards Chris.

Chris backed up, moving towards the hallway, lifting his hands up in defense.

"I'm fine, Claire." He pressed, grabbing his sisters wrist and moving it from beside him. He ran to the stairs in a hurried motion and almost tripped over his feet.

Claire followed closely behind him, her feet hitting the wooden floor with small taps. "Chris, just tell me what's wrong." She demanded, her breath slightly heavy from running after her brother. She caught his wrist in her hand, finally and turned him around to face her. She stood on her toes and brought Chris' face close to her own.

"Tell me what's wrong, Chris."

Chris had never seen his sister in a bad mood before, but to see her so angry now, made him terrified. He spoke,

"Claire, just leave me alone. Get yourself some coffee." He sighed, pulling his wrist away from Claire.

"You can't hide from your past, Chris." She paused, "No matter where you go or what you do."

Chris stopped on the fifth step up, his eyes widening slightly as he remembered the words in his head.

"How dare you." He turned towards Claire, eyes red with anger.

"How dare you speak the words he spoke. Piers said those words. Look at where that got me." He stepped down, fury lacing his voice, his raised his fist at Claire, who flinched back. She shook her head.

"You need to let him go. He's gone, Chris…why can't you accept that?"

The tension was strong in the hallway, Claire's glare to her brother piercing his skull. Chris tried not to look away, to keep his stronger look…but to no avail.

Chris finally looked away, his arm going limp and falling to his side. He shook his head, sitting on the stairs and holding his head in his hands.

"He can't be gone…He can't."

Claire nodded her head, crouching so she was at eye level with Chris.

"He might not be gone…but until we find him, or any evidence to prove that he is still alive…We're all going to say that he is gone." She lifted a hand onto Chris' shoulder.

"I know you don't want to accept that…I'm right there with you, Chris. But like I said…Until we find him-"

"I know." Chris lifted his head to look his sister in the eye. He sighed, standing up and turning. His footsteps echoing once again as he walked the rest of the steps to his bedroom.

Claire was still crouched on the stairs, her eyes closed as a long exhale escaped her lips.

"Oh, Chris…"

She stood up, and felt her throat quench with thirst. Boy did she need a drink right now. Slowly, she started to make her way to the kitchen, leaving Chris to his own devices and to think about the conversation that had recently occurred between the two.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we meet my cringe-worthy OC.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a line that summarizes me and my OC rather clearly.... Anyways, second update, enjoy.

It had only been a week since the funeral of his men. It had hit Chris hard.

Here he sat, inside the bar with a bottle of whiskey in his hand. He hadn't long turned up to the building, and had already brought the bottle.

 

The bar was empty, seeing as it was only...

 

Chris looked at the clock on the wall.

 

1:53pm.

 

He sighed, shaking his head.

 

"So…Are you gonna drink that. Or do you want your money back?"

 

Chris looked up at the bartender in front of him, the man's hair was waxed back into a flick of sorts. The clothing he wore was a standard uniform, black and grey.

 

Chris looked away from the bartender and attended to his own bottle, twisting the cap and pulling it off with a 'pop'. The smell of whiskey attacked his nose, causing his face to contort to one of displeasure. The smell evaporated rather quickly and Chris lifted the bottle to his lips, tipping his head back and taking a mouthful, only to have it pulled away from him. He swallowed the drink with haste and scowled at the person who pulled at the bottle.

 

His eyes landed on a woman next to him, she was standing a little taller than Chris when he was seated. The look on her face was enough to kill a guy; her eyebrows chiseled over her dark brown eyes in a frown, her lips were pulled back in a snarl. Her cedar colored hair was pulled back into a loose bun, and the rather awkward parting in her hair caused her fringe to partially cover her right eye.

 

Chris scoffed, grabbing at the bottle only to have it pulled away some more. Anger started to settle at the back of Chris' mind, slowly pulling itself to the front.

 

"Look here, little girl…I paid almost $20 for that bottle of whiskey there. I'm gonna ask you to give it back." The tone of his voice wasn't demanding however, did show a mask of slight frustration.

 

The girl shook her head, before pointing behind her and speaking, "Follow me and you'll get your bottle back..." She paused, "Probably."

 

Chris paused, raising an eyebrow. His scowl returned to his face.

 

"I don't even know why you're here, let alone who you are."

 

The girl in front of him rolled her eyes, shaking her head in a disappointed manner.

 

"You'll find that out in a minute-"

 

Chris opened his mouth to speak, and found himself being interrupted.

 

"-only if you follow me outside." Her voice was more demanding now, and a finger was thrust towards him.

 

Chris rolled his eyes, and glanced to the side before raising from his seat at the bar and stepping towards the girl holding his whiskey. Lifting a hand to his forehead, Chris managed to catch a glance the girl's height. She was short, not too much shorter than Piers. He hesitated before looking down at the jumper she was wearing.

 

His eyes widened.

 

A B.S.A.A patch was visible on her shoulder, mocking his eyes. He'd never seen this girl before in the squad. Was she from Europe? The badge clearly said "America." Maybe he was just imagining things.

 

A hand reached out and touched the badge on the jumper, causing the girl to flinch back and grab Chris' wrist, pulling it away from the jumper. She then turned and walked towards the bar's entry door, Chris following her lead.

 

"Who are you?" Was the first thing Chris asked when the door clicked shut behind them. He leaned against the brick wall behind him and closed his eyes, releasing a breath from his lips. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he took in the cold air around him.

 

A sigh.

 

"My name is Alexia. Alexia Mardia."

 

"You're not a member of the B.S.A.A." Chris spoke nonchalantly, folding his arms over his chest and opening his eyes.

 

The girl opened her mouth to protest before Chris lifted a hand and motioned to the jumper she was wearing.

 

"I've never seen you…Or heard of you. So what do you want?" The press in his voice caused Alexia's lips to tighten, making them turn almost white.

 

"I'm here to talk about..." Alexia paused, her eyes lifting in thought before facing Chris again, "A friend of mine."

 

Chris raised an eyebrow. The girl's voice sounded strained, almost as if she didn't like calling this mystery person a 'Friend'. He let a small breath and shrugged his shoulders.

 

"And?"

 

"You know him."

 

Chris looked up, suspicion spiking through him. He pushed himself off the wall with a hand and looked at Alexia, his eyebrows furrowed. So this was a boy, huh? Chris felt his lips tug into a small lopsided smirk.

 

"Listen here, Alexia. I doubt that I know this kid, but even if I did, I'm not helping you with your love life. That has noth-"

 

"First of all, you do know this guy, if you'd let me talk, you would had realized that…Secondly, I am not straight." She let out a snort before looking Chris in the eye. "I have no interest in long floppy things that hang in between guy's legs."

 

Chris let out a half-hearted laugh, "I believe they're called 'Dicks' sweetheart." He made a point to point to his trousers, "They help with a thing called repopulation, and self pleasure."

 

Seeing the girl lift his whiskey to her lips, he froze, lifting his hands in protest and watching idly as she took a swig from the bottle.

 

"You really need to think before you speak. I did not need to know that, Chris." She smirked wiping the top of the bottle with her free hand before placing the bottle in Chris' hand. "Thanks for the drink though."

 

Chris snorted at Alexia's behavior, snatching the bottle into his hands and taking another swig of whiskey, the burn in his throat returning momentarily before he spoke again.

 

"So this boy…You never told me his name." Chris looked down at his bottle, pursing his lips, then back at Alexia, who blinked in confusion.

 

She frowned.

 

"He went to China with you."

 

*Too matter-of-factly*

 

"Several people did, sweetheart."

 

A pause. Then a irritated sigh.

 

"Tell me, Chris. Just what happened to those men?" Alexia growled.

 

Chris looked up, letting the look of pure hatred seep into his skin.

 

"Doesn't matter."

 

"WHERE'S MY BROTHER, CHRIS!?!?!" Her voice had echoed into the afternoon sky. Nearby birds flying from the roofs above them.

 

Alexia let out an exasperated breath, looking as though she was trying to embrace the silence. A finger pointed to the chains dangling around Chris' neck.

 

"Those were his, Chris. Where is he?"

 

Chris let his eyes peer down at the dog tags around his neck.

 

"Where's Piers?"

 

Chris looked back up, eyes wide. Hands now shaking violently as he drunk in the name again. A name he hadn't heard in over a week. His hand threatened to drop the bottle, only for Alexia's voice to bring him back to reality.

 

"Chris?"

 

He looked at the girl. Alexia's hands were enveloped by her pockets, seemingly shaking as well, as the fabric shook with each breath she took. Her legs crossed one another, a sign of insecurity to the battle-ready man.

 

Chris tried to speak, but only a choked cry left his throat. His eyes went blank  of all emotion as his memories took over his mind.

 

_Footsteps pounded against the metal casing of the building, echoing through the small passageway. Chris looked down at the case file. He was still looking for his ACE sniper, letting a small twinge of hope encase his insides._

 

_'Maybe.' He thought 'Maybe he's still alive.'_

 

_Still the people who he was with denied it. Saying that all the evidence Chris had given them pointed towards Piers being dead. There was no evidence yet._

 

_Key word - yet._

 

_Granted, Chris had almost lost a hope a few times, but that one pipe of motivation pushed him to search further. That motivation no one knew yet, and he doubted anyone would._

 

_He marched down the hallway still, scanning the door names and numbers with haste._

 

_The sound of footsteps sounded behind him, before the muffled words of "Chris" and "wait" made him stop. He rolled his eyes, tearing them away from the doors and turning._

 

_"What is it Andrew?"_

 

_"That is Professor Andrew to you, Christopher." The professor jumped on his toes impatiently, almost as if he was ready to laugh about something. His ginger locks bounced up and down in the short ponytail he wore, covering his eyes several times before Chris finally lost the sliver of patience he had._

 

_"What did you want to tell me?"_

 

_Andrew pulled a file from behind his back. One similar to that of Chris'. The folder looked more empty than the one Chris held, and could almost be mistaken for an empty file had it not been for the slim sheet of graph paper messily stapled the top left hand corner of the folder._

 

_"So. You know how we were told to take samples of the water surrounding the last known position of Piers?"_

 

_"The tests that were done three weeks ago? Then yes."_

 

_Andrew's face grew a warm tone of red, before he spoke again, in a more hurried manner._

 

_"Well, in the samples that came back..." Andrew paused opening the folder to the single page, "We found slight hints of bio-electricity."_

 

_Chris raised an eyebrow in suspicion, turning his head to a slight angle._

 

_"And?"_

 

_Andrew rolled his eyes, shoving the folder into the inside of his lab coat, and pulling a small slip of paper out of an outer pocket._

 

_"Well…earlier that month, you had told us that due to Piers' 'mutation', he released several blasts of bio-electricity from his arm, which in turn radiated into the sea…from we've accounted anyway." He released an exaggerated sigh before continuing, "From the several encounters you've had with bio-organic-weapons (code name B.O.W's) we've noticed a slight pattern."_

 

_Chris' gaze became more focused, his mind seemingly intrigued by the new information._

 

_"Continue..."_

 

_"The chrysalis/cocoon like feature that most B.O.W's come out of doesn't 'decrease' till the creature is defeated…correct?"_

 

_"Yes..."_

 

_"That got me thinking..."_

 

_"That's not goo-"_

 

_"What if, due to Lt Nivans being a suspected 'J'avo' now…Would that mean any evidence of bioelectricity in the sea would evaporate if he were to…die?"_

 

_Chris took a moment to process the new information. A smile tried to tug onto his lips but failed, due to the stress of the situation. He crossed his arms, snug across his chest._

 

_"Are you trying to tell me that my theory of Piers being alive-"_

 

_"Is true?" Andrew asked, interrupting Chris, before a simple "Yes" left his lips._

 

_Chris bit his lip to stop the cheer that almost escaped his lips. His eyebrows furrowed suddenly as reality dawned upon him._

 

_"But…we've looked everywhere in the surrounding area. We couldn't find him."_

 

_"Then look harder!" Andrew yelled, throwing his arms out to his sides. "If you can't be asked to look, then we'll only have to assume that he's dead and it'll be all your fault." He poked a finger towards Chris, jabbing his chest a few times, due to the close proximity._

 

_Chris turned away, ignoring the calls of Andrew, and proceeded to search for the room he had been looking for beforehand._

 

"Chris?"

 

Chris snapped back into reality, shaking his head slightly before settling his sights on the girl in front of him. Alexia had her hands out of her pockets and was leaning to side slightly, her brows were chiseled above her eyes again, similar to that of earlier. She was also closer now, her eyes almost in line with Chris' chest as her questioning eyes looked up at him.

 

He remembered the question she had asked earlier, and let out an incoherent mumble, one that Chris himself couldn't hear.

 

Alexia cocked her head to the side slightly, "I'm sorry, Chris…could you repeat that?"

 

"He's gone..." Chris repeated, his voice only just over a whisper.

 

"Didn't quite catch th-"

 

"I SAID PIERS IS GONE ALEXIA!! THERE!! YOU HAPPY NOW?!" Chris' voice bellowed into the overbearingly silent alleyway. A series of pants followed suit.

 

For the first time in years, Chris thought the world went quiet. No cars driving past, no distant chatter of teenagers on street corners. Just the wind pushing past them.

The sky turned grey, a heavy contrast from the once blue-ish sky. Clouds thundered into formation as Chris and Alexia stood there staring blankly at one another.

 

"W-what?"

 

Her voice had cracked when she spoke, raising about an octave above her normal pitch of voice. Her hands dropped to her sides in a solid motion, and her shoulders slumped almost on cue.

 

The first drop of rain fell from the sky, touching the floor and pulling Alexia down with it.

 

She fell to her knees suddenly, breaking down into an uncontrollable fit of  ugly sobs. She gasped for air between each one, letting tears roll onto the floor, along with the now pouring rain. A sudden clap of thunder alerted the two, causing Chris to look up and blink, all the while Alexia stay attached to the floor holding her head in her hands, screaming.

 

Her screams sounded to Chris, like those of fear and agony, loud piercing shrieks that the howling wind carried. Carried to the furthest parts of the world, letting them know that yet another person was hurt. Hurt because of him…Because of Chris.

 

Chris looked away, not daring to look at the picture he had created, one that was almost static because of his words.

 

The sobs had silenced long before Alexia stood up. They were both shivering, being soaked to the bone and freezing in their wet clothing. Alexia never looked at Chris in the eye, only gave him distant glances as she pulled her phone out and dialed a number.

 

Chris opened his mouth to speak, only to have Alexia's words interrupt him.

 

"Claire…Can you come pick us up…Please?"

 

Chris was taken aback. Was Alexia talking to his Claire? His sister?

 

"Oh…You're already here? Okay…we'll be there in a sec. Okay bye."

 

Alexia placed her phone into her pocket, reached forwards, grabbed Chris' wrist and proceeded to drag him out of the alley.

 

\-----

 

Claire stood in front of the pickup, a frown on her face. She glanced at the watch on her wrist.

 

2:45pm...

 

"COME ON!!"

 

Claire snapped her eyes to the display being put on in front of her. A hand hit her forehead as a groan left her lips. What had they done this time?

 

Chris had pulled his wrist away from Alexia's stone grip, mumbling a few curses under his breath and rubbing at the red mark on the skin. Meanwhile, Alexia had folded her arms over her chest, pulling her lips into an almost snarl and shaking her head.

 

"What were you two doing?!" Claire asked, stepping away from the door of the pickup and making her way over to the two.

 

"I leave you two alone for almost an hour and you're at each others necks. Am I surprised? NO!"

 

Claire raised her hands in a whipping motion, slapping the adults across their arms before letting them settle in their crossed formation.

 

"Just…Get in the truck. I don't want to hear a peep out of either of you."

 

Claire jumped into the front seat, and let Chris ride shotgun. Alexia was left sitting in the back, so she took the advantage and took her boots off, lifting her feet up and placing them on the seats next to her.

 

Alexia pulled the dry-ish phone out of her pocket again, and proceeded to prod at the screen with her thumb, scrolling through old photo's, suppressing a laugh with some of them. Something glistened in her eyes as she pulled up a photo, a lopped smile tugged at her lips and a sigh passed through her nose.

 

Piers and Chris hadn't long gotten back from lunch with their teammates. They were happy and let their mood flood through the house. Alexia had been staying a few nights, insisting that she wouldn't be able to look after the apartment on her own. It was dinner time and a film was left playing in the background, Disney, most likely.

 

Alexia pressed her thumb against the "extra options" button and clicked "Properties". Her screen was covered by a brick of sorts.

 

Her eyes glance at the date,

 

October 15th 2012.

 

Three months before Chris went missing, nine before the incident in China, the one that she'd only just found out about that day. It left a bitter taste in her mouth, knowing that she hadn't been invited to the funeral, so she could say her goodbyes to Piers.

 

"-Was the body ever found?" It left her mouth so quickly, she'd no time to stop herself. She shifted against the door window, being careful not to hit her head against the glass. Her head lifted an inch, the dark brown eyes she had, gazing into the rear view mirror, which Claire had just shifted.

 

The siblings in the front remained quiet, Chris leaning back into his seat while his sister tapped her nails against the steering wheel.

 

Alexia took the silence as the answer and looked back down at her phone.

 

"Didn't think so."

 

She glared at the picture, letting her index finger hover over the "delete" button.

 

"Ya' know, if I were you, I wouldn't delete the picture."

 

Alexia's head snapped up, feeling the jolt of the car pulling into the parking lot.

 

Chris had already gotten out of the car, tugging at his jacket and almost stumbling towards the front door. Claire fingered at the buckle, before tugging it away from her.

 

"In all honesty, Alex… if we did find him alive…I'd think he'd want to see some old memories."

 

Alexia blinked at Claire, before making an "o" shape with her mouth and shoving her phone into her pocket again. Claire appeared at her door.

 

"Now get out before I lock you in here."

 

Alexia pulled her boots on and opened her door, mere seconds before Claire locked the car.

 

They were all inside after a few minutes of bickering siblings and pointless dad jokes that Chris had made. Alexia had already made her advances towards the guest room. The room that herself and Piers would share sometimes…If Alexia had a bad dream, that is. She pushed on the dark oak door, hearing it creak as it opened up. That was gonna scare her for a while…always did. Slowly, she let one foot pass the barrier, and suddenly a stream of cold untouched air attacked her face. It was soothing yet carried a sense of uncertainty with it. That was until she remembered that.…oh yeah, Piers wasn't there anymore.

 

Her nostrils flared as an exasperated sigh left her nose, her eyes stinging with tears again. A hand flung to her face, covering it as she slammed the door closed and threw herself onto the bed.

 

No one heard her muffled cries, her screams of fear and sadness, for they were silenced by her pillows. At least, that's what Alexia thought.

 

Chris stood on the other side of the door, his ear almost pressed against the wood. He heard the sobs on the other side, and a sudden twinge of guilt flooded through his veins.

 

He slid down the door and sat against it, waiting for the cries to stop. He didn't know how long he was gonna sit there for, but he'd probably be there for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter's gonna be a little longer, just a heads up, it'll be posted in a few days.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angst!!! I think... -_-

"Alex!"

 

The smell of freshly baked pancakes filled the contemporary kitchen. The light from outside illuminated the wooden flooring, giving it a meek shine. The kitchen was rather open-planned, with the island counter being used as table. Four stools surrounded one side of the counter while the other side was used for preparation.

 

Claire stood at the oven, hovering over the frying pan and listening to the sizzle of the pancake mix. She brushed a loose strand of auburn hair behind her right ear and continued to look in the the direction that she called.

 

Alexia stood at the door frame. Her pajamas hugged her form nicely, though her jacket from the night before was wrapped around her shoulders.

 

"I heard my name?" She said, a hint of questioning resounding her speech. She stepped into the kitchen and sat down next to Chris, who happened to be looking through the week's newspaper.

 

Chris let out a sigh, placing the newspaper into the basket next to him, before turning to Alexia.

 

"About yesterday-"

 

"I don't want to hear it from you two." Claire stopped, bringing two plates stacked with pancakes from where she was stood and placing them in front of Chris and Alexia. "I want to have at least a week of happy stuff with you two under the same roof. I know what you're like." She gave a glare to the two in front of her, "the both of you."

 

Alexia turned a glance to Chris, then to her pancakes. She picked up the fork next to her plate and proceeded to prod at her breakfast. She picked up a pancake with her fork and nibbled at the food, trying to be as quiet as possible, and (from what she could see out of her peripheral) Chris seemed to be doing the same.

 

Alexia kept quiet throughout breakfast, only speaking when she was spoken to. With both Redfields either side of her, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of nervousness. Her hands shook slightly, but still, she tried to keep the small smile glued to her face.

 

"You sure you don't need me to wash or dry your jacket, Alex?"

 

Alexia shook her head at Claire before adding her own words, "I'll be fine. It's relatively dry anyway."

 

She went to pick up another pancake only to hear the fork scrape against the plate, making her grit her teeth slightly. She pushed the stool away from her at the first chance she got, picking up her plate and walking over to the dishwasher.

 

After almost throwing the plate into the machine, Alexia stormed out of the kitchen and into the hallway. She let out a sudden groan, moving towards to the stairs, and proceeding to climb them.

 

She reached the top step and ran to her room, tossing her pajamas to her bed and pulling on her clothing. She pulled up her trousers, shivering at the dampness of the fabric.

 

Finally she pulled on her boots, and gave a glance into the landing hallway, then  with the silence only a sniper can pull off, she stepped toward the bedroom window, pushing on the handle and opening the window slightly. Alexia grabbed her wallet from her bedside table, checked the money inside before smiling and pushing herself out of the window. Her boots touched the roof of the building, letting Alexia turn and close the window before running and jumping off. She rolled on the floor, kicking up some dust in the process and letting out a cough in response. She rolled onto her feet, making a bee-line for the street. Man she could use a drink right about now.

 

\----

 

Chris got up from his seat after hearing Alexia's bedroom door click closed, something that only happened after a window was opened.

 

"Alexia's just left the building, Claire." Chris spoke, walking over to the front door in the hallway and pulling on his shoes.

 

"I'm gonna go after her."

 

"Chris."

 

Chris hummed, looking in the direction of his sister, who shrugged,

 

"Maybe she needs some time alone."

 

"Time alone to drown in her sorrows like I did?"

 

Chris felt Claire's hand press against his shoulder before shoving at it lightly. He the heard a light chuckle behind him.

 

"If that's what she's gonna do, then go get her…Otherwise, leave her be."

 

Chris nodded, pulling away from the touch and pulling his jacket on instead.

 

"Got your phone?"

 

"Won't need it-"

 

"Chris."

 

Chris held his hand out and felt the phone being placed into his hand before he  proceeded to the door and opened it. Pulling the keys with him and closing the door behind him. All without saying a single goodbye to Claire.

 

He climbed into the pickup truck, and placed the key into the ignition, twisted it and listened as the vehicle revved into life. A smile grazed his lips, pulling the corners up slightly. He pressed his foot on the acceleration and pulled out of the parking lot, opening the window and pulling on his seat-belt.

 

In the end it didn't take too long to catch up with Alexia. Chris saw her slip into the bar about a mile away from where they lived. The bar where Chris went last, where he told Alexia about -

 

"Oh…Shit."

 

\---

It was rather loud for a pub at this time in the morning. The TV in the corner by the drinks stand was blaring a football game's announcer through the speakers. Several men were sitting around tables, some throwing money and the occasional drink at one another while others tried to catch a glance at the waitresses or just girls in general, catcalling the occasional girl that walked past their tables.

 

Alexia sat on one of the bar stools closest to the bartender and called him over, pulling out her wallet and drawing out her ID.

 

"I know you." The voice of the bartender spoke up, over the loud chatter.

 

"Yep, saw you yesterday and the day before. I'm a regular… Why so busy today anyway?" Alexia nodded, raising an eyebrow at the guy behind the counter.

 

The man gestured to the TV screen, then spoke, "The big game's on today. Rugby…I believe."

 

"American Football, you mean." Alexia corrected, peering up at the screen and seeing the announcers faces in the picture.

 

"The usual I'm guessing."

 

"Yep."

 

Alexia threw the money onto the counter and turned on her stool to face the TV.  Her eyebrows chiseled their way over her eyes in the way they always did when she was focused.

 

"You play?"

 

Alexia turned her gaze to the bartender who passed her the drink and took the money.

 

"Nah. Well…Not anymore anyway." Alexia shook her head, turning back to the screen and taking a sip of her drink. The sourness of the lemons hitting her taste buds.

 

"Whiskey Sour's not very popular on the menu. Why d'you like it so much?"

 

Alexia let out a snort, placing her glass on the counter.

 

"That reason exactly. It's not popular… Plus I like the taste." Alexia shook her head. "That sounded better in my head, now that I think about it."

 

The bartender shared a laugh with her, before shaking his head and attending to the newest customer.

 

Alexia let her eyes turn to the screen again. The first game had started with a coin toss. It was rather boring to watch in Alexia's opinion, but playing it was a whole new experience.

 

The team that won the coin toss chose to do a kick off. Missing the ten meter mark by a few centimeters.

 

Alexia snickered at the chorus of boo's echoing around her, as she picked up her glass and took another sip before yet again paying her attention to the game.

 

"What are you doing here?"

 

Alexia almost spit out her drink, coughing slightly at the shock she was given.

 

"Jesus FUCKING CHRIST, CHRIS! What the actual fuck?!" Alexia seethed, taking deep gulps of air into her lungs. She slammed her glass onto the counter, turning around and slapping the first thing her hand came into contact with, which happened to be Chris' cheek.

 

Chris didn't flinch. He only kept his firm gaze on Alexia.

 

"Don't do what I did."

 

"What?" Alexia asked, pulling her hands to her lap, "Sit in here and drink till someone has to drag my sorry ass home." Her eyes squinted, "I wasn't going to do that, Chris. I know my boundaries. All I wanted to do was get away from the house, from the memories. I needed a drink. THAT'S ALL."

 

By now the bartender had come around and placed a hand on both Chris' and Alexia's shoulders, silencing them both.

 

"Chris, is it? Listen. Alex is a regular, she never goes home pissed, a little tipsy, maybe…but pissed? Never." The bartender spoke, gesturing to Alexia with a hand.

 

"Never?" Chris raised an eyebrow. "How do you know?"

 

The bartender shook his head, "She's a regular. Did you not hear me say that?"

 

Alexia got up and grabbed her drink, gulping the rest of it down in one mouthful. She slammed the glass onto the counter again before getting her wallet and storming out of the building.

 

"Fuck you, Chris."

 

Once outside, she took a look at her surroundings and let her eyes land on the harbor. Her face went soft.

 

Piers was last seen underwater right? One look wouldn't hurt.

 

Alexia took off her jacket and boots, placing them next to the wall. For safety measures, she threw her phone and wallet into her boots and kicked them up against the crevice of the bricks. Slowly, she stepped towards the edge of the path. The edge that would let her enter the water. If anything went wrong there was a ladder up the side that she could come up.

 

"Alright fucker. Where are you?" Alexia felt her head start to pound from the alcohol. Her vision blurred slightly as she took a few steps back.

 

Suddenly, the door to the pub flew open, Chris storming out. At the sight of Alexia, he started walking towards her. Alexia saw him in her peripherals, and made a bee-line for it, diving into the water as Chris reached out for her.

 

The water pooled around her as she fell through the line. It was cold, but let through enough light from the sun to let her see what was around her. Blues rippled around her the occasional bubble escaping from her lips as her breath was slowly released. The water attacked the clothes she wore, soaking her to the bone in a matter of seconds. Alexia tried to ignore it, swimming further down, towards the bottom of the sea bed.

 

The harbor was about 30 feet deep. It was unused due to the safety conditions of the water. Alexia opened her eyes, letting them adjust to the sudden light change. It was a lot clearer than she thought it would be.

 

A shadow passed by her, causing her to twist in the water. Her eyes widening. Her head shook and her eyes blinked, thinking it was just some illusion. Her arms slowly tread the water keeping her in place.

 

Her hair lifted upwards with the water, uncovering her eyes and letting her see the shadow in more detail.

 

The skin of the shadow came into view first. It was torn and green, blood flowing around it. It had no eyes only dark holes, and its mouth was torn at the edges, exposing rotten teeth. An bone-like arm reached out towards Alexia, then another, and another, until four arms were reaching out towards her.

 

Alexia tried to kick away, but found herself trapped between the harbour wall and the creature. She shook her head furiously, tears pushing their way to the rims of her eyes, then out into the pool of water, where they were swallowed. Two of the four hands grabbed her ankles as Alexia tried to swim up.

 

Her lungs tightened suddenly, as Alexia released a scream. She clamped her mouth shut, reached down to her foot and grabbed a blade from her sock, narrowly missing the teeth of the attacker. Her legs began to kick at the creature, forcing a hand to let go. Alexia pulled at the blade, trying to get it to flip out of the case. The pressure of the water kept it secure however. So, with great care, Alexia placed the blade between her neck and chin, pushing down on it till the blade came out.

 

A sharp pain flooded through Alexia's neck, before a stream of red flowed from the wound. She grasped the blade in her hands, releasing one to press against the wound as she slashed with the other. The blade tore through the skin and muscle easily, the creature's grasp loosening ever so suddenly.

 

Alexia couldn't hold her breath anymore. She let it out before instinctively drawing one back in, bringing with a cold stream of water. Eyes widened more so and arms began to thrash at the water, forcing her body to the surface as more water pooled into her lungs and stopped her breathing.

 

It felt so painful to her, the scratching of water against her lungs making more tears push out of her eyes.

 

She convulsed once, her chest pumping out in a sudden jerking motion as her arms stopped, then continued to move. Cutting through the water and pulling her up a little more.

 

The pain was unbearable. Alexia felt as though she would pass out at any given second. The scratching of water at her lungs was enough to make her cough, drawing even more water into her system.

 

One hand reached out of the water and grasped the ladder followed by another.

 

Alexia felt her eyelids lower slightly, and felt her arms go limp. Her hands plummeting back into the cold depths of the water below her, as she closed her eyes and let the darkness consume her.

 

\---

 

Chris fell to his knees at the edge of the harbor, his eyes scanning the perimeter for any movement.

 

"Come on Alex. Come back up."

 

In on hand Chris held his nine-oh-nine handgun. Pointing it at the water.

 

The silence was unbearable, Chris reached down to look, but recoiled as a hand reached for the ladder and latched onto it.

 

"Alex!"

 

Chris reached down to grab the wrist before it hit the water, but it just slid out of his reach, and lowered into the water.

 

"Crap!"

 

Chris stripped his jacket, and took his phone out of pocket, putting it on top of the fabric before jumping into the water after Alexia.

 

He too was soaked to the bone in a matter of seconds but kept his eyes open to look for Alexia.

 

Below him, he saw two hands reaching up. Chris grabbed them with no thought, pulling Alexia onto his back and climbing onto the ladder. He drew in deep breaths, and placed the girl on the ground in front of him. He got onto his knees and placed his ear against Alexia's chest. Upon hearing no heartbeat, and seeing no breathing, Chris proceeded to press his hands against the centre of the chest, pumping up and down as a way of getting the water out of her lungs.

 

The bartender from before came into the alleyway, startled by the yelling. He ran over to the two on the floor, studying the situation.

 

"Call an ambulance. And god dammit, hurry!"

 

"Yessir."

 

Footsteps sounded away from them giving Chris the opportunity to look for any wounds. Seeing one on her neck, his eyes widened. His hand reached for the jacket he tossed, pulling it over and placing it firmly against the cut.

 

From there he began to do CPR again, pumping his hands up and down on Alexia's chest, muttering incoherent curses every time water wouldn't come up.

 

After three and a half minutes of performing CPR, Chris heard the sirens approaching. His head whipped up, turning towards the entrance of the alley, where medics were now running towards him.

 

"Okay, sir, what seems to be the issue?" One of the medics kneeled in front of the two, examining Alexia's body. "I see a wound, three centimeters long, probably a knife." The man looked back up at Chris, "Was this woman attacked."

 

Chris shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head.

 

"I don't know. I've been performing CPR on her for a while now, I think she inhaled some of the water."

 

"Have you tried providing her system with oxygen?"

 

Chris raised an eyebrow.

 

"Mouth to mouth resuscitation." The man stated. He raised a hand, ushering one of the other medics over to their location.

 

"If not, I would presume that's why she hasn't given the water up yet. The worst case scenario is that you've probably broken one of her ribs, I only say this because of your mass." He gestured to Chris' bulky arms, then looked up at the woman who had joined them. He muttered a few words into her ear, nodded, then stood up. Chris stood up as well.

 

"We'll have to take her to the nearest A&E, check her for any internal injuries. If anything is wrong, we'll hook her to an IV and she should be okay."

 

"As long as she's alright afterward-"

 

The sudden sound of wet coughing caught both their attentions. Chris looked down and saw Alexia leaning on an elbow, coughing up all the water she had inhaled not even ten minutes ago. He kneeled down in the puddle of water, reaching forwards and rubbing her back. More water came up.

 

"How much did you take in?" Chris asked, dumbfounded by the amount of water that now lay on the floor.

 

Alexia took in staggered, gasping breath, shaking through the pressure of coughing so much. Finally, her eyes closed again and she fell forwards, only just being caught in Chris' arms. With a grunt, he picked her up, laying her head against his chest. All the while the medics were staring in shock at the scene.

 

After a few seconds the medics spoke, "The ambulance is just at the end of the alleyway."

 

"Her belongings are next to the wall." Chris stated, nodding his head towards the pub wall.

 

"What. Is. That?" The woman asked, pointing past Chris, who turned around and stared wide eyed at the creature before him. The same one that had tried to attack Alexia earlier.

 

The blade that Alexia had used was lodged in its right shoulder. Scratching at the skin every time it moved.

 

Chris moved Alexia onto his shoulder, pulling his gun from his pocket and aiming it at the head of the thing. Chris pulled the trigger, the loud pop of the bullet echoing through the sky. No sooner had it left the gun, did it find itself buried in between the holes where the BOW's eyes should have been. Chris kept his gun aimed, preparing for anything like what a J'avo would do. After it slumped onto the ground, Chris pulled his gun back and holstered it, placing it back into his pocket.

 

He crouched onto the floor and sighed, grabbing at the blade and pulling at the handle, instantly letting it come clean from the shoulder.

 

"It's Alex's. This thing tried to attack her. Smart girl… Took my advice." A smile tried to play at his lips but he stopped it, taking in the surrounding area and standing up straight again.

 

"Let's go."

 

Chris grabbed his phone and jacket up off the floor, and proceeded to dial Claire's number.

 

It rang twice, then she picked up.

 

"Chris? What's up."

 

"I'm taking Alex to the hospital." Chris stated matter of factly, walking to the ambulance and placing Alexia on the stretcher.

 

"What? What happened?" Claire's voice rose an octave, a crack in her voice clearly evident.

 

"I'll tell you when I pick you up." Chris paused taking a slip of paper from the shelf, before taking into account the name and placing it back. "I do have the car with me, so I shouldn't be long."

 

"Where are you?"

 

"I'm just outside the bar."

 

"The one from yesterday?"

 

Chris hummed.

 

“Come and get me… Now.” Claire demanded through the phone, raising her voice slightly.

 

Chris nodded, giving a quick ‘okay’ before hanging up and jumping into his pickup.

He turned the vehicle around, making a break for the street, and back to where Claire was waiting for him.

 

\---

 

“Where is the new arrival?” Chris placed a hand on the front desk, leaning towards the receptionist with chiseled eyebrows.

 

“Alexia? She’s down the hall, turn the first left then she should be in the first room on your right.” The woman paused, standing and leaning forwards to meet Chris’ gaze, “She looked in pretty bad shape when she got here.”

 

Chris nodded, pushing off the desk and ushering Claire to follow him.   
  
The siblings walked in silence, keeping their focus on the busy white hallway before them. Claire spoke first.   
  
“You’re apologizing when we get in that room, you know that right?”

 

“What for?” Chris turned his head, being sure to glance in front of him every so often and looking for people ahead of him. He let some people jog past him in an orderly fashion, nodding to them.

 

“Everything.” Claire spoke matter of factly, turning down the first left on the hallway.

  
The door to the room loomed a few meters away, and Claire stops, taking the moment to give her brother a quick look down, before walking over to it. Outside the hospital room they stood, facing one another, almost glaring.   
  
“I’m gonna go in first.” Claire said, pushing Chris towards the benches on the other side of the hallway, “While you,” she pushed him into a seating position then made her way back to the door, “Wait out here.”

 

Chris rolled his eyes, giving his sister a sloppy salute before saying, “yes ma’am.”

 

Claire shook her head, feeling for the door handle, then when her hand touched the metal, she instinctively pushed down on it, opening the door and walking inside, right before poking her head out and mouthing ‘stay’ to her brother, who nodded his head and leaned back, watching Claire closed the door behind her.

 

\---

Alexia blinked awake, finding herself staring at the blinding white tiles. It smelt strange, almost like bleach, as sterile walls and floors climbed around her. Blinking a few more times, Alexia tried to sit up, only to groan and flop back into the pillows below her. The constant beeping beside her was slowly giving her a headache, the footsteps edging closer to her didn’t help with her anxiety either.

 

“Good to see you’re okay.”  
  
Alexia turned her head to the side, and found her sights greeted by Claire, who gracefully sat down on the chair next to the bed. She tried sitting up again, only to be stopped by Claire, who had leaned forwards and secured her shoulders in a tight grip.

“No Alex. Stay still, you don’t want to open that cut on your neck.” Claire’s voice sounded stern, almost demanding in a way.

 

“Where am I?” Her throat was dry, she realized, and she tried to clear her throat, to no avail however, as she burst into a sudden fit of coughs.  


Claire reached to the cup of water on the bedside table and leaned forwards again, tipping the glass forwards and letting the water pour into the mouth of Alexia. She accepted the water like a gift, letting it flow down her throat as she swallowed and she found her throat was no longer dry.

 

“You are in the hospital.” Claire spoke, leaning back in her chair, sighing as the pillow behind her cushioned and comforted her back. “Now… What happened?”

 

“I-” Alexia sighed, pushing herself up in the bed and letting the sheets slip down, revealing the hospital gown she was wearing. She reached behind her and pulled the pillows up, letting them rest against the headboard of the bed then leaning against them, almost as if trying to keep them there.

 

“Take your time.” Claire’s voice rung out in the room, “Chris is in the hallway, so you have all the time you need to talk.”

 

“I guess it started when I got into the bar. Earlier, I’d been itching for a drink, being a regular at the bar I figured I’d go there.” Alexia let her voice flow slowly through the words, while allowing her mind to try and recall the details of the morning.

 

“Umm… Eventually, I’d gotten my drink, paid the bill, and was now paying attention to the TV, occasionally having a quick chat with the bartender, a friend of mine I guess.”

 

“Then Chris showed up?”

 

“Yeah.” Alexia spoke with a slight tint of bitterness in her voice.

 

“You need to thank him for what he did back there, at the harbour.” Claire said, causing Alexia to turn her head. “And you also need to apologize… He was very worried about you… He said he didn’t want to lose you too.”

 

“W-what?” Alexia’s eyes went wide, she was not expecting that. She glanced away from Claire, looking at the door.

 

“Is he out there?” Claire nodded her head, standing up and starting towards the door,  
  
“Do you want me to get him for you?”

 

A nod came from Alexia, as she relaxed against the pillows.

Claire stood next to the door, reaching for the handle, casting a glance towards Alexia before she said,

 

“You sure you don’t want to wait, Alex?”

 

“You said I had to apologize, Didn’t you?” Alexia shrugged her shoulders, “It’s not gonna get me out of here sooner, but I’d rather apologize now rather than later.”

 

Claire nodded in understanding, looking back at the door.

 

“Once we go home, everything **will** be happy again… OK?”

 

“No promises, Claire… But I’ll give it my best shot.” Alexia said after a chuckle escaped her lips.

 

“Let’s bring in the bear then.”


	4. Chapter 4

Chris lifted his head at the sound of the door opening again. He had his phone in his hands again, and was looking through some pictures of his own. 

 

“Alex will see you now, Mr Redfield.” Claire spoke with a smile on her face, as her head poked out of the door again. She chuckled, stepping out of the room and into the hallway.

 

Chris stood up, shoving his phone into his slightly bloodsoaked jacket, shaking his hand out afterwards. He made his way to the door with Claire, who had been standing at the bench on the other side of the hallway. For the first time in a long time, he felt nervous, his heart was racing and he really felt the need for a glass of water.

 

“Chris?” Chris turned his head towards his sister, and cocked his head slightly.

 

“Yeah?” His voice wavered slightly, and he mentally face palmed.

 

“You apologize to her, remember?”

 

Chris nodded, before he heard Claire add suddenly,

 

“And if I hear any arguing from you two, I’m taking you straight home… Understood?”

 

Another nod from Chris. He reached and and held the handle in his hand.

 

“You staying out here?” He turned to Claire, awaiting her answer.

 

“Yeah. I’ll leave you to talk alone. I’ll be in there in a few minutes, don’t worry.” Claire tapped his shoulder with her hand, before walking to the bench and sitting ceremoniously on the seat. She waved to Chris, signalling to him to enter the room, “I’ll see you shortly.”

 

\----

 

Chris turned to close the door behind his as he entered. His hands pushed on the door lightly, in an attempt to not make his presence too clear to Alexia.

 

“You know, Chris-”

 

Chris turned at the mention of his name, making his way over to the chair and sitting down on it, hearing it squeak in protest at the sudden weight being added. 

 

“I was wondering… What things would be like had Piers still been alive.”

 

Chris sat up from his slouched position on the seat, perking up at the mention of his old partner.

 

“Would I be different… would  **you** be different?” Chris watched as Alexia slumped into the pillows, he managed to get a better look at her.

 

Her hair was disheveled and slightly damp, some sticking to her face after the dip in the harbour. She was pale, and the natural blush that normally occurred on her face was invisible, an obvious pointer to the loss of blood. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and her arms were locked securely around them. Her figure looked as though she were trying to hide herself from the world. Her breathing was not steady, she drew in deep ragged breaths, letting them out in quick bursts of air.

 

“Why did you save me?”

 

Chris pulled his focus back to Alexia’s face, seeing as she looked towards him with tired, almost dead eyes.

 

“I mean. You could have left me there to drown, I don’t remember much of what happened…. But, you didn’t have to save me, Chris.” Her voice was hoarse, almost as though she had been yelling. Her hand was slowly reaching out towards the cup on the bedside table. Chris reached for it, and gave it to Alexia, who smiled in thanks before pulling the cup to her lips and drinking a mouthful.

 

“When the doctor told me you didn’t look good, I didn’t think she meant like this.” Chris spoke, motioning to Alexia, who had stretched her legs out under the covers.

 

“You still haven’t answered my question.” Alexia countered, holding the cup in her hands and seemingly watching the water slosh against the glass.

 

“I wasn’t going to let someone I care about be taken by the depths again. Piers was already taken by the water… I wasn’t about to let you be taken too.” Chris stared at his lap, his hands were locked together. 

 

“Really? Then I thank you… so much.” Alexia smiled a genuine smile. Similar to that of Piers.

 

“You know… I see him in you.” Chris mentioned, looking at Alexia.

 

“Piers?” The smile lowered, as Alexia’s lips tugged into a straight line.

 

“Yeah. Just as genuine, as stubborn and as much a pain in the ass as you are.”

 

Alexia chuckled, before freezing up.

 

“HEY! Asshole!” Alexia reached forward, smacking Chris’ leg.

 

“I hope you aren’t arguing.” 

 

Chris and Alexia looked towards the door, watching as Claire walked over to the two, pulling another chair to the bed and sitting on it.

 

“How are you doing?” Claire asked, glancing between the two, before her gaze landed on Alexia. “And why is she smiling?”

 

Chris held his hands up shaking his head and saying,

 

“All I did was compliment her-”

 

“By calling me a pain in the ass-”

 

“-You called me an asshole  **and** slapped me.”

 

Claire cleared her throat, clapping her hands together.

 

“All I did was ask why she was smiling… I didn’t expect you two to start bickering.” She rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

 

Chris locked eyes with his sister, wrapping his arms around her in a quick hug, before releasing her and ruffling her hair. After several protests he let go, shaking his head and slouching back into his chair. He glanced at Alexia, who had closed her eyes and was leaning against the pillows. The glass of water still stood in her hands, and was slowly threatening to pour onto the bedsheets.

 

He reached a hand out and grabbed the glass by the rim, tugging on it and watching as Alexia’s fell slightly onto her lap. She stirred suddenly, as though awakened from a trance. Her eyes shot open and she sat up, clutching her head in an almost sudden pain.

 

“Did I fall asleep?” She looked over at Chris and Claire, seeing them shrug their shoulders in sync, she groaned, “Fuck...”

 

“Language missy.” Claire scolded, a small frown appearing on her face.

 

Alexia rolled her eyes, sighing, before she argued, ”I’m 23, Claire… I’m not a child anymore.”

 

Chris nodded in agreement, looking over to Claire for confirmation.

 

“At this rate, anybody would think you’re children.”

 

Chris let his mouth open agape, then a frown overtook his features, causing his face to contort into one of frustration.

 

Claire raised her eyebrows at Chris, reaching into her pocket and grabbing her phone. She turned the screen on and showed Chris the time on the phone

 

_ 10:37am _

 

“I asked you two earlier this morning to behave in that house. It took you  **an hour and thirty minutes** give or take to get yourselves in a pickle!”

 

“But-” Alexia tried to talk, but found herself being interrupted by Claire. 

 

“I don’t wanna hear it.”

 

\----

 

Alexia was let out later that day, being discharged only because of her discomfort towards the situation. She was given her old clothes - which had been washed during her stay - and she was given some medication for the occasional heartburn that she could potentially have.

 

They were stood just outside the hospital. Alexia was wearing her jacket around her waist, her top hung loosely on her shoulders and the trousers sat snug around her legs. She was comfortable overall, but her denial of being cold right now was false. It was practically winter, the breeze becoming stronger and colder every time it passed them. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t want a coffee right now, it’d be warm and comforting, as well as the fact that it would wake her up, as she seemed to be stumbling around the carpark, having to rely on the quick eyes of the siblings to keep her in check.

 

Having almost fell over for the fourth time since their walk to the car, Claire had decided that Alexia would be best if she waited for Chris to get the car, instead of causing another trip to the A&E.

 

Chris pulled up at the sidewalk in the pickup truck after a minute or two, and ushered the girls to get in. Claire had to help get Alexia into the back, as she was almost on the verge of falling asleep.

 

“First order of business is getting her a coffee.” Claire pointed to the back of the truck, the person in question was leaning her head against the window, fiddling with the fabric of her shirt subconsciously. Her eyes were squinting, almost as if fighting the urge to close, and let her fall into a deep slumber that would not stop till late at night.

 

“Areed.” Chris nodded, checking for any oncoming traffic before pulling into the road and speeding to the closest coffee shop.

 

The ride there was relatively quiet, save for the quiet hum of the stereo at the front of the car. Chris didn’t care about surround sound, deeming it a waste of time and money to get it installed. 

 

Chris found an empty space in the parking lot, declaring that going straight home wouldn’t be the best of ideas right now, and instead suggesting that they (Chris, Claire and Alexia) should all go in. He unbuckled his seatbelt and reached into the back, his large frame causing a slight difficulty to this arrangement. Shaking his head he got out and told Claire to wait for them by the front door.

 

He walked to the back door of the car, looked in and watched as he saw Alexia’s chest rising and falling in time and at a steady, rhythmic pace. She seemed to mumble something in her sleep as Chris opened the door, Chris paid no mind to it at first, until that mumble grew to a word.

 

“Piers…”

 

His eyes widened at the name, and he stared at the person who said it. He saw a tear roll down the cheek of Alexia, then another, and another… till several were rolling down her cheeks.

 

Chris reached forwards and shook her lightly, his hand was placed lightly against her shoulder, and he shook it forwards and back in a slow motion, being careful to not startle her.

 

“Alex… Wake up.” His voice was barely a whisper as he spoke. He shook again, and still got no response. With a slightly harsher tone he said,

 

“Alex, wake up!”

 

Alexia started to stir at the sudden sound of her name being called. Her eyes blinked open slowly, and she moved her head so it looked like she was sat up straight. She licked her lips and turned her head to glance a Chris, before giving a yawn and attempting to stretch her arms above her head. 

 

“Mornin’... Are we home yet?” Her voice was hoarse, similar to how it had sounded in the hospital. Her appearance changed slightly since then as well, the bags under her eyes weren’t as dark, and a light blush covered her cheeks.

 

“Actually…” Chris started, looking at his phone, “It’s the afternoon, and no we aren’t at home. We’re at the coffee shop.”

 

Alexia seemed to perk up at the mention of coffee and she unbuckled her seatbelt, shuffling out of her seat and making a beeline for the coffee shop doors.

 

Claire was stood there chuckling, as Alexia almost ran into the doors had it not been for Claire stopping her with an arm.

 

“Sorry!” 

 

Claire chuckled, grabbing Alexia by the shoulders and turning her around. A hand reached up was placed on Alexia’s cheek, and slowly started to wipe away the now drying tears. A warm smile appeared on Claire’s face, making Alexia give a smile in return.

 

“Took your time waking up I see.” Claire mentioned, her smile turning in a sly grin as she pulled Alexia into a hug, wrapping her arms around the body of the shorter girl. 

 

Chris suddenly arrived, pushing the coffee shop doors open for the girls. Alexia followed a few steps behind Claire, clasping her hands together behind her back as she looked around the building. 

It was rather small, almost like a café of sorts. A few tables and chairs sat in orderly places a few people sat at each, turning slightly at the arrival of the new customers, before turning back to their conversations, the overall feel of the place was homey, full of chatter yet not too loud. 

 

Claire took Alexia to one of the empty booths sat against the window and sat her down, placing her bag next to her and grabbing her purse. She looked at Alexia with an expectant smile before she asked,

 

“What would you like?”

 

“Umm... a medium cappuccino with one sugar and a bit of milk… Please.”

 

“Anything to eat?”

 

“I uhh…” Alexia tried looking over Claire’s shoulder to catch a glance at the menu and saw Chris blocking it.

 

“I’ll be okay till we get back…” Alexia spoke, sagging her shoulders and trying to relax in her seat as Claire walked over to her brother and gave an order, giving Chris the money.

 

Alexia looked out at the street, it wasn’t that busy, then again it was probably closing in on lunchtime, as more people entered the store and joined the queue that Chris and Claire stood in, waiting for their order to be given to them. 

 

Alexia jumped at the sound of her cup placed in front of her.

 

“One cappuccino, with one sugar and a bit of milk.” Alexia looked to Claire as she spoke, her eyes focused on the chocolate chip cookie she held in her hand. Her eyes turned to an expression of want as she reached for it.

 

Claire gave the cookie willingly to Alexia, knowing her hunger was enough to suffice her discomfort. Alexia opened the wrapper and bit down on the cookie, before reaching for her drink and taking a mouthful. 

 

It tasted bitter, yet welcoming at the same time. The warmth of the drink slowly rejuvenated her energy, bringing back the prominent flush in her cheeks and letting her eyes open wider. 

 

“I just thought you wanted something to eat, seeing as you were trying to look past my block of a brother.” Claire laughed, smacking her brothers back, and rolling her eyes as he made no move forwards. 

 

“Anyways,” Claire started sliding onto the seat and pulling her bag onto her lap, “How you feeling?” Her voice went down in tone a bit, as to not distract the other people in the store. Chris sat opposite them, his body taking up two thirds of the booth on it’s own, in all honesty, Alexia was kind of impressed.

 

“My neck still hurts. But I feel a bit better.” She released a sigh, and took another sip of her drink. 

 

Claire shared a look with her brother, then turned to look at Alexia who was now nibbling on her cookie.

 

“Me and Chris were thinking that… perhaps, you should stay at your apartment for a few days, before the landlord starts getting worried and looks for you.”

 

Alexia almost choked at that statement, placing the food on the table before turning to Claire who had a serious look on her face, though in her eyes she could see guilt.

 

“I don’t wanna go back there, not without Piers. You two know this.” Alexia hissed at the two, looking back and forth between them, hoping for some sort of negotiation. “I can get my stuff and come back with you two. Tell my landlord I’ll be away for a while. I can’t live on my own, Claire… Chris?” She looked towards the man opposite her, almost begging for support. “Help me out here!”

 

Chris gave a dejected sigh, as he looked Alexia in the eye. “I’m sorry kid, it’s not my decision here.” He looked at his sister. “And it’s not yours either.”

 

Claire turned and looked at Chris, “We both agreed that this was best for her, Chris.” Claire furrowed her brow, squinting her eyes, “Don’t pretend that I’m the bad guy in this situation.” She turned to Alexia, a spark of anger flashing in her eyes, “As for you…”

 

Alexia pressed her back against the window, feeling the stares of the bystanders against their table. The store was quiet, and a strong tension hung in the air, one that Alexia couldn’t escape from, because she was trapped between Claire and the window.

 

She gave Chris a heartbroken stare, her mouth slightly agape and her eyes brimming with tears.

 

“I don’t wanna go back. P-please Chris… tell her. TELL HER! I can’t go back.” Alexia let out a sob, her face contorting to one of pain and utter agony.

 

“I didn’t want to make you go back. But after the incident at the bar, I cannot trust you two to be within five freaking feet apart.” She gave a growl and turned to the crowd staring at them, “AND STOP FUCKING STARING!!!”

 

Alexia pushed off the chair with her feet and jumped into the next booth, landing on the table before rolling off and running towards the door.

 

Claire’s voice could be heard behind her, endless shouts of ‘Don’t do this Alex’ and ‘I’m sorry’ echoed in her ears. But she ignored them, exiting through the door and slamming it shut. 

 

\-----

 

She ran until her legs were burning. Which was about after two miles of running continuously. She was inhaling and exhaling at a rushed pace, leaning over and placing her hands on her knees. There was nowhere to sit other than the dust covered floor, so Alexia decided she would keep walking until she reached her apartment. She had no water, no food and her throat was parched. So she wasn’t having the best time right now.

 

The occasional person she would pass would glance her way, giving her a look of confusion as to why this ‘healthy’ girl with a bandaged neck was walking down the street almost in a drunk manner. Alexia stuffed her hands into her pockets and upon feeling her phone and wallet brush against her fingertips, she gave a relieved sigh and drew them out; careful to not accidentally drop them on the floor. 

 

She turned on the phone screen and looked at the time,

 

_ 13:46pm _

 

“For fucks sake.” The words escaped her lips in a sigh, barely hearable to those around her. She put her phone into her pocket and instead - with her other hand - pulled out her wallet. She flipped it open and saw she still had fifteen dollars. So She walked into the closest convenience store, grabbing a 1.5 litre bottle of water and paying the $1.75 at the kiosk. 

She almost tore the lid off the bottle, chugging down a quarter of the bottle before thanking the lady behind the counter and walking out.  She bumped into something solid, and by the ripped chest showing through the fabric she had already guessed who.

 

“I was Just. Going. Home.” Alexia pulled her hands up, still holding the bottle in her left hand. 

 

Suddenly she made a beeline for it, hearing the curses of Chris and Claire about three meters behind her. She let out a scoff, feeling her legs start to burn again. The rumble of an engine echoed down the street, giving Alexia a few seconds to turn the corner and down the alleyway.

 

She just made it into the alleyway as the car pulled up behind her, the screeching of tyres making her wince.

 

The sound of thundering footsteps behind her made her kick off the ground and against the wall, pushing off that and latching onto the railing of the small balcony with her right hand. She looked down, staring at Chris and Claire as they attempted to get her down.

 

“This is where I live assholes.” She threw the bottle onto the balcony and lifted herself up with both hands. Kicking her legs over the railing and letting her covered feet touch the metal.

 

Her neck still hurt from earlier; placing a hand against the bandages and rubbing it let the pain subside slightly. She picked up her bottle of water and made her way up the stairs, hearing the tapping of metal below her feet echo with each step she took.

 

As she walked up the steps she managed to get a better look at the alleyway and street beyond that, watching as bystanders were either messaging someone, having a cigarette, or looking at the two awkward people standing against the wall, having a mute conversation amongst themselves.

 

Alexia reached the top apartment, and stepped to the door, raising her hand and tapping on the door a few times. After a few seconds, Alexia heard the jingle of keys on the other side, before the door cracked open slightly, only letting in a slither of light.

 

“Hey…” Alexia sighed, letting her free hand run through her hair, “sorry I’m late.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to comment!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> THERE IS SEX IN THIS CHAPTER. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ THIS CHAPTER THEN I SUGGEST YOU WAIT TILL I HAVE POSTED THE NEXT CHAPTER...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a hard time writing this chapter... Its the first time writing this kinda thing.

When she walked through the door,  Alexia was attacked by a pair of arms wrapping around her shoulders and pulling her into a hug. A warm chest pressed against her own, sharing the warmth with Alexia. She let her chin press against the crook of the neck of the other, letting out a contented sigh.

 

“What took you so long?” The sweet voice spoke into her ear, warming her heart.

 

Alexia pulled back from the embrace, and placed a kiss the other’s forehead, “I’ll tell you in a minute, my read-headed princess.”

 

Placing the bottle on the counter next to her, Alexia took in the view of the streets from the window, before turning away and pulling her boots off.

 

“You know you could’ve messaged me right?”

 

Alexia stopped walking, thinking for a moment before her eyes widened, “Oh yeah…” She then cleared her throat, “Sorry.”

 

“You’re injured!” Hands caressed Alexia’s face, lifting her chin and exposing the bandages covering the wound.

 

“Susanna, I’m fine. It’s nothing I can’t handle.” Alexia took a step back to admire Susanna from a distance, “Let me take a look at you.”

 

Susanna was a curvy set girl, looking around 20 with her long, ruby red hair being held in a high ponytail, and scattered freckles adorning her nose and flushed cheeks. Her eyes were a captivating shade of forest green, and naturally long lashes embraced them.

Her overall features were soft, giving a loving, motherly feel to her, something that attracted Alexia to her even more.

 

She pulled Susanna in and placed a soft chaste kiss against her lips, then separated and brought her in for an embrace. 

 

“Why are you so beautiful?” A smug grin overtook her features, as she watched the flush on her partner’s cheeks grow a darker shade of red. A series of incoherent mumbles poured from Susanna’s lips. She managed to place a soft hand against her cheek and mumble the words “shut up” before pulling away from the embrace and making her way to the living room. 

 

Alexia watched her walk away, her lips pulling into a smile as she shook her head and made her way to the bathroom. She’d been there enough times over the year Susanna and herself had been dating to know the place inside out, especially the bedroom. She’d had plenty of experiences in there to know where that was.

 

Closing the bathroom door and locking it behind her, she made her way over to the other side of the room and took a look at herself in the mirror.

 

Her cheeks were slightly tinted pink, her hair was unkempt, and the bags under her eyes had returned. She brushed the hair out of her eyes and let them trail down to her neck. It was still covered by the bandages from the hospital earlier that day and come to think of it, Alexia had been through a lot.

 

Her hands reached for the bandage, clasping her fingers around it and tugging on it. It loosened and slowly revealed the wound underneath it. It had already started to scar. The brighter skin showing her mistake.

 

A quiet tap on the door alerted her.

 

“ _ Alex… Sweety… You in here? _ ” Susanna’s voice came from the other side, calm and collected. It went silent after that. Only the shuffling of feet on the other side was heard.

 

Alexia let out a sigh, turning and sitting on the toilet seat.

 

“ _ Can I come in? _ ”

 

Another sigh escaped her lips,

 

“Yeah.”

 

The door opened after it clicked, Susanna came into view in the doorframe, she had her hand placed against the wall and her head tilted. Her hair was down now, letting it hang over her shoulders. The dressing gown she wore also covered her shoulders, but it showed almost everything else. The v neck like structure of the gown showed a majority of her cleavage, making the cheeks of Alexia glow red.

 

“Uhh… hey?... wow.” She seemed to be at a loss for words, her eyes scanning Susanna’s form from head to toe every ten seconds.

 

“You’ve probably had a rough few days... right?” Her voice sounded tempting, as she walked closer, she shrugged her shoulders and let the gown fall slightly, her arms were crossed, stopping the gown from showing all her beauty.

 

Alexia nodded her head, her eyes still focused on Susanna’s. 

 

“You need a break don’t you, baby?”

 

Another nod.

 

Susanna crouched so that she was level with Alexia, her gown slipped some more and revealed another fifth of her breasts. 

 

“You tired?” Susanna lifted her head up and pressed her lips against Alexia’s

 

Alexia pulled away to nod, then leaned forward to kiss Susanna again. However, she had already stood up and walked to the door, pulling her gown up to her shoulders.

 

“Come on then. Let’s get you to bed.”

 

Alexia almost fell off the toilet, pressing her hands against the bathroom floor to stop herself from collapsing onto the tiles beneath her. She looked back up to the door and saw Susanna beckoning her out of the room. She followed her with want, letting her abdomen flip, the sensation making cheeks burn further. 

 

The bathroom was right next to the bedroom, so it was as little as walking three steps from one door to the other. 

 

As they reached the bedroom, Susanna leaned against the wall next to the bed, pulling Alexia against her and into a rough kiss, Alexia smiled into the kiss enjoying the sensation. Their lips moved in a smooth rhythm, growing plump with each bite or pull they shared. Susanna lifted her legs around Alexia and wrapped her arms around her neck, deepening the kiss further.

 

It was a dance that they had both performed on several occasions, and, after a lot of giggling and tripping they finally ended up rolling around on the bed, fighting for dominance in their quaint make-out session. 

 

“So…” Susanna spoke, pulling away from the kiss and crossing her arms over Alexia’s chest. “What was this thing you were gonna tell me about?”

 

Alexia let out a breath, her lips pulling into a smile as she brushed the stray hair away from Susanna’s face. “What did I say?"

 

“You said you’d tell me what took you so long, like…” Susanna turned her head to look at the clock on the bed side table, “...15 minutes ago?” Alexia smiled more as Susanna tried to turn in her arms, but it was futile, as her grip was too strong for her and she didn’t have the energy to move.

 

“OH… that.” Alexia lifted her eyebrows, shrugging her shoulders in understanding. “Umm...” She shifted, trying to get into a more comfortable position. 

 

When she felt she was in a comfortable position, she patted the bed next to her, signalling for Susanna to get off her. Susanna pushed up so that she was hovering over Alexia, then pushed with one hand so that she flipped onto her back and away from Alexia.

 

“Okay.” Alexia started, pushing on the bed and lifting herself up, sitting in a comfortable position. “Well, when I left the other day…” Alexia sighed, watching Susanna as she placed her head against her shoulder, “I’d received a message from Claire.”

 

“Chris’ sister?”

 

Alexia nodded. Then when a nod of approval came from Susanna, she continued to speak.

 

“She told me that Chris wasn’t looking so good, something had come up and since then, he’d been in a real foul mood. So… me being me… I gathered my things and left. I took the bus using some of my money and when I’d arrived at Claire’s and Chris’ place, I found that he wasn’t at home.”

 

Susanna raised an eyebrow, lifting her head from Alexia’s shoulder, “Shouldn’t she have told you that before you got to theirs?”

 

Alexia shrugged her shoulders. “Well… she had told where he did go, when I got there.” Alexia patted her shoulder and Susanna rested against it again. “Does that count?”

 

“I guess so.” Was Susanna’s response.

 

“She told me that Chris had probably gone to the pub around the corner, and said that my best bet was to tell him who I was, seeing as he might not remember. I was relatively confused at the time, but thought nothing of it.”

 

Alexia shivered at the memories.

 

“Then I got to the pub. In Chris’ hand was a bottle of whiskey. At the sight of the bottle I got angry. I took the bottle away from him as he drank it. Then asked him about Piers.” A melancholy sigh left her lips and she turned her head away.

 

“Piers is your brother-”

 

“Not blood related… just technically adopted, I guess?”

 

“Anyway, when we were outside, we started yelling at each other, he was starting to remember me… I could tell. When I then demanded that he tell me about Piers… It was almost as if I had triggered a dark memory of sorts… He froze in a way, it scared me. When he came back to reality, he seemed to lost all sense of remembrance. When I asked him again, he snapped. He told me that… Piers was gone.”

 

A gasp came from beside her.

 

“He was dead.”

 

She shook her head, then continued, “Claire was already at the pub and I took Chris with me to the car.”

 

“I stayed over theirs for the night, then went to the pub myself in the morning, after we had breakfast. I needed a drink and I needed time to think. I know the bartender pretty well to be honest. And I was having a decent time… Then Chris turned up…” A dry laugh left her lips, “turns out he thought I was drowning in my sorrows like he did the day before.” Her voice was bitter now, and she spat the words out rather than speaking them.

 

“I don’t think I’d ever been so pissed off at someone before in my life.”

 

“Well… You and Chris have been known to butt heads a lot. So it’s no surprise that you probably did today.”

 

“You know the harbour?” Alexia asked, turning her head to look at Susanna, who gave a quick nod.

 

Alexia gave a chuckle, looking away and simply saying, “I jumped into that harbour.”

 

“YOU DID WHAT?!” The shriek came from beside her, making her flinch as Susanna shuffled and come to sit on her lap, practically pinning her to the bed.

 

“I know I shouldn’t have done it. I’d never felt regret so quickly in my life. I felt so cold so quickly. The water was squeezing me almost…” Alexia’s voice had already grown hoarse, her throat scratching with every noise she made. “And when I closed my eyes, then opened them again… I found myself in the hospital, nurses all around me, telling me to stay calm, that I’d be okay.”

 

She sighed not bothering to tell the rest of the story, “And now I’m here…”

 

She saw Susanna visibly relax in front of her, her shoulders almost going limp. She looked into her green orbs, feeling herself relax. Her shoulders melted into the pillows below her, and her eyelids were proving to be a lot heavier than anticipated. She gave a final tired smile before closing her eyes and letting sleep overcome her.

 

**\---------------**

 

Alexia groaned as she blinked awake, a pressure was holding her against the bed, from the lack of shuffling, she figured that the person holding her down wasn’t planning on letting her up anytime soon.

 

“Hey baby.” The soothing voice of Susanna caused Alexia to open her eyes to a fuller extent, letting her see everything. “You’re up a little late…” A lighthearted chuckle left Susanna’s lips, making Alexia’s heart melt. A warm smile grazed her lips as leaned up and locked them with her lovers, in a deep, passionate kiss. While one hand kept her up as a support, the other snaked around Susanna’s waist, pulling her closer, and fully deepening the kiss. A breath came between the two, pulling them apart as they smiled at one another. 

 

Alexia moved her hand from Susanna’s waist to her cheek in a fluid motion, still panting slightly as she took in the beautiful sight before her. Susanna no longer had the dressing gown on from earlier, her chest being revealed for Alexia to see. She had shifted so Alexia could sit up again, and she was now sat in the small cubby hole that Alexia’s crossed legs had given her.  She sat at a lower height than that of Alexia. 

 

She moved, pressing their chests together, then letting their foreheads touch in a soft, caring demeanor. Alexia had mumbled a few soft words, before letting her hands graze the skin of Susanna. They started at the cheeks, pressing on them slightly and watching as they squished against the light touch, her cheeks were warm, glowing a pale red at the contact as she leaned into the touch. Then her hands slowly glided down to her neck, her thumbs still rubbing at her jaw line, as she placed airy pecks against them with her lips, she paused when Susanna shivered in her place biting her lower lip in a mixture of discomfort and anticipation.

 

Alexia began to pull her hands away when Susanna latched onto them with her own, near enough silencing her actions.

 

“Don’t stop.” It came out as an whimper, her head shaking as she placed the hands on her shoulders. She let them rub down her arms, and seemed ignored the goosebumps that had risen on her skin. “Please.” That small pleading smile appeared on her lips, the one that almost always made Alexia putty in her hands. 

 

“I’ve missed you so much these past couple of days… I need you, Alex...” Susanna licked her lips. “I want you… You and only you.”

 

Alexia looked Susanna in the eyes, having already leaned closer to her lover to lock their lips once more. Their lips pressed together again, moving in sync as Susanna pulled on Alexia. They fell further towards the center of the bed and away from the pillows. Alexia fell on top, her hands supporting her weight as she slowly lowered herself onto the bed beside Susanna, still keeping her lips locked with the other.

 

Her hands continued their journey over the skin of her lover, feeling the bumps where the sudden cold had affected the once smooth surface. Her fingertips grazed Susanna’s naked breasts, causing an immediate effect; her back arched, and a breathy moan escaped her lips passing into Alexia’s mouth and vibrating down her throat. She felt the nubs on her breasts harden at the touch, her nerves seemingly becoming a lot more sensitive to contact. The cold skin touched Susanna’s right nipple, causing a yelp to echo in the room, and fingers to latch onto the strands of Alexia’s unkempt hair.

 

Alexia broke away from the kiss, placing her lips against Susanna’s jaw and neck, sucking in places and leaving the occasional mark. Susanna however, squirmed under the touch, breathing heavier and more rapidly, as fingers worked their way over her body, teasing her nerves with every brush and poke. 

 

Susanna had grown blind to the world around her, placing all her focus and trust on the girl who caressed her body, embracing it with her touch and warmth. She bit her lip and sucked on it every time Alexia brushed against somewhere sensitive; she had yet to reach her most private of areas, and treasured that time, spilling kisses over her shoulders, chest and stomach.

 

“I love you.” It came out so sudden, and so breath-like, it caught Alexia off guard and she lifted her head, letting her brown orbs meet those green ones halfway.

 

They shared a light chuckle together before Alexia leaned forwards and placed another soft kiss on Susanna’s lips, pulling away and placing her ear against her chest.

 

The gentle thud of her heart gave her a sense of hope, telling her that this wasn’t a dream. She was home and with her lover like she had wanted. She smiled and closed her eyes at the sound, ignoring the prod of the nub against her jaw. 

 

“What are you doing?” Came Susanna’s voice, a hint of nostalgia covering the tone and pitch of her speech. Her hand smoothed Alexia’s hair, stroking it behind her ear as Alexia shrugged and said,

 

“I’m listening the beat of your heart… what’s it look like.”

 

A snort came from above as the hand on her head attempted to push her away.

 

Alexia chuckled, lifting her head again and adjusting her position so that she straddled Susanna, theoretically pinning her down to the bed. She placed her hands either side of Susanna’s head, gripping the bedsheets as she bit her lip and slowly pulled her hips forwards, causing a pleasurable friction for the pair of them. The trousers that Alexia wore weren’t doing her any justice however, as the friction wasn’t very effective. 

 

Susanna gripped the belt loops in protest, biting hard on her swollen lower lip and almost turning it white. Her fingers fiddled with the fabric, ultimately attempting to pull the trousers down. Alexia let out a pant, shuffling and pulling her trousers off, flinging them onto the floor, before climbing back over Susanna.

 

“You okay?” Alexia asked, noting the downcast eyes of Susanna. Her hand snaked up lean against Susanna’s cheek, the warmth of it making Susanna lean into the touch. She nodded against the hand, rubbing her cheek against the skin and sighing in content.

 

“It’s been awhile… since we made love… uhhh-” She cut herself off when she hear the low chuckle of Alexia, who stopped when they locked gazed.

 

“It has… I guess you could call it that.” Alexia hummed. Removing her hand from the cheek, she slid it down to Susanna’s ribs stroking them and watched as Susanna fought to keep in the chuckle. Her stomach contracted with every giggle she tried to hold in, rolling slightly each time.

 

Alexia continued to move her hand down, past her stomach and onto her thighs. She rubbed at the smooth skin on the inner thigh, watching as Susanna relaxed, covering her eyes with a hand and telling Alexia to “Go ahead”.

 

Alexia kneeled in place, before bending over and kissing Susanna's stomach, then shuffling on her knees and moving down to her legs. She left trails of light kisses and nips on her inner thighs, grasping them with her hands and stroking them. Her hands reached for Susanna’s underwear, and she hesitated, looking back to Susanna and giving a loving smile.

 

“You ready? You know I won’t do anything ti-” 

 

“I trust you. We’ve done this before… just go ahead.” Her words were quiet, wavering with each word as though she was anticipating something. 

 

Alexia took that as a get go, letting her teeth bite down on the fabric. She settled her hands back on Susanna’s thighs, then pulled on the fabric between her teeth, pulling them down Susanna’s legs and over her feet. Before dropping them over the edge of the bed and returning to her original position. She kissed around the area that the fabric had covered, admiring the smoothness of the skin. Susanna shivered, letting out a mewl as her hand reached down. Before she reached her destination, Alexia wrapped her fingers around the wrist, keeping the hand out of reach while she placed a teasing kiss on the skin a few millimetres away from the sweet spot.

 

“Please, Alex...“ Susanna let out a whine, squirming beneath her touch.

 

Alexia placed her lips against the skin again, letting Susanna lace her fingers through her hair, directing her to the place of need. The place where her arousal was strongest. Placing her hands on either side of Susanna’s legs, Alexia tested the waters, dipping down and pressing her lips against her labia, poking her tongue out and prodding the skin with it. The reaction was almost immediate, as Susanna squealed, digging her nails into Alexia’s scalp, causing her to hiss.

 

She brought her hands to the lips of the flower and spread them, prodding her tongue against the already moist skin. A moan escaped the lips of her lover, beckoning her to continue.

 

She dragged her tongue up the slit, flicking it up as it touched the nub. Then pulled away, glancing at Susanna. She had one hand digging into the sheets, the other pulling at Alexia’s hair, trying to get her to continue. She was at a loss of breath, her breathing quick and ragged. Her lower lip was locked between her teeth, slowly turning white.

 

Alexia felt her own arousal return at the sight, and she peered down at the flower below her, dripping with juices from the anticipation. The smell of the arousal sent a blush to Alexia’s cheeks, making her cover it up by going back down, licking at the juices, trying to gather all she could before plunging into the depths of the canal. A chain reaction occurred; Susanna let out a low growl through her clenched teeth, and Alexia felt the muscles contract around her tongue. 

 

She lifted a hand, placing it a little ways from the clitoris, massaging the area before she proceeded to rub the nub with her thumb in smooth circular motions. 

 

“Babe…” Susanna’s voice drew into a whisper as she mumbled incoherent words to herself, letting out a whimper every now and then as her muscles clenched even more. Alexia could tell she was close, from the contractions to the loss of breath and moaning, she’d been here plenty of times before, in this position, embracing her, holding her and loving her like she deserved.

 

Alexia replaced her tongue with her fingers, pumping them in and out as she moved to lock her lips with Susanna again. She tried to fight for dominance in their makeout session, their tongues pushing against one another in a dance of sorts. She growled into the other’s mouth as Susanna dug her nails into the uncovered area of her back, sudden shaking caught her attention as moisture pooled around her fingers, which she continued to pump, helping Susanna ride out her moment of ecstasy. She removed her fingers when she thought was necessary, quickly licking off the juices then proceeding to wrap both arms around Susanna, pulling her up and onto her lap.

 

The last few moments of Susanna’s orgasm were spent catching much needed breath and Alexia cradling Susanna in her arms, rocking her from side to side in an attempt to calm her shaking and breathing.

 

“I’m right here.” Alexia soothed, rubbing Susanna’s back in a coordinated figure-of-eight.

 

“I know...” Susanna panted, clutching onto the fabric of Alexia’s shirt and leaning into the embrace. Her warm figure curling up and relaxing.

 

Alexia heard a soft snore finally echo from the girl in her arms, so she leaned back to the pillows, forgetting about the previous days and focusing all her attention on the sleeping Susanna that lay curled against her own body. She continued to rub the back of Susanna, rubbing in a figure-of-eight like before and turning her.

 

Susanna pressed back against Alexia in her sleep, letting their bodies lock into place before Alexia too felt lost in sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave a comment... Next chapter should be up in a few days give or take...


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn... It's been over a month since I updated that, and I give my sincerest apologies... It's definitely the shortest chapter of the bunch that's for sure... hope you enjoy anyway.

Chris and Claire were stood in the alleyway till night-fall. The stars in the sky and their phones being their only source of light.

 

“I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s all my fault.” Claire said, pulling her hands to her face and rubbing her eyes. Her hair was a little unkempt from running so much, and her feet ached.

 

“Claire…” Chris trailed off. He knew his sister was wrong for doing what she did, but at the same time - he thought - Alexia was wrong as well for acting the way she did towards the situation. Chris sighed and looked towards his sister, taking in her posture and actions.

 

He reached towards her shoulder, placing a hand on it and waiting for a reaction.

 

“At least she is at home… Right?” Claire lifted her head from her hands as she shared a glance with Chris. She looked up at the stairs above her, contemplating whether or not she should check on Alexia - see if she was really there.

 

She shook her head, thinking against it. Turning away from Chris and making her way towards the end of the alleyway, she grabbed her phone, checking the time,

 

_ 11:43pm _

 

“Should the streetlights be off yet?” Claire asked, taking the question back as she walked out of the alley and into the street, where lights overtook her sight. A quick “nevermind” escaped her lips as she made her way to the car down the street. It was still parked outside the convenience store, illuminated by the lights inside, and sporting a slight orange glow from the lights around them.

 

“Claire… Ya know..” Chris stopped when Claire glanced behind her, her eyes sporting a melancholy glare. 

 

“Never mind…” Chris walked ahead, stopping at the driver’s-side door and glancing back towards Claire, who had stopped to look back in the direction they came. Then she walked again, her shoes almost scraping the floor. When she reached the passenger side, she lifted her head to make her eyes meet Chris’, the look they gave was almost pleading.

 

“Come on then… Let’s go home.” Chris sighed, unlocking the door and getting in, waiting for Claire to enter before turning on the engine and pulling away.

  
  


\--------------------

 

It took a while to get back, considering that the siblings lived on the other side of town. Chris pulled into the parking lot, turning off the engine and opening his car door. He gave a glance to Claire who was still staring at her lap.

 

“Claire… We’re home.”

 

Chris felt Claire’s eyes lock with his own, then pull away as she too, stepped out of the car. Chris closed his door, locking the car and walking to the front door of their house. He pressed the key into the lock and twisted it, letting the door click.

 

It was quiet between the two, Chris deciding to make his way to the kitchen while Claire stuck to the living room. He made his way over to the coffee machine, inserting a packet of coffee and letting the machine work it’s magic. While doing so, he walked back into the hallway, listening the quiet chatter on the TV in the living room. Claire seemed to be watching another one of those soaps.

 

The ding of the coffee machine made him turn back to the kitchen. Grabbing a mug and placing it on the worktop, Chris rustled his hair. It was so quiet in the house at the minute, with neither Alexia or Piers there, but at least one of them could visit again. Chris sighed, pulling the jug of coffee and emptying its contents into the mug beside it. The smell of the coffee filled his nose in an instance, the bitterness of the black coffee filling his senses and waking him up again.

 

It tasted so much different than that of what Piers made, then again, he made it by hand… not with a coffee machine. Chris looked into the coffee mug, watching the steam rise and hit his face. He wrapped a hand around the handle of the mug, then lifted it to his lips. He hesitated for a few seconds, then tipped the mug, letting the liquid enter his mouth.

 

He swallowed it, not letting his senses get the best of him. His feet moved to the stairs, abandoning his shoes at the bottom by the front door. He moved slowly, as to not alert Claire. 

 

When he reached the top of the stairs, he made a point to open the spare bedroom door and click the window closed. He then turned and walked out the room, not too long after did he notice the glow of metal on the floor of the spare room. He place the cup on the window ceiling, then made his way into the room again. Looking down his eyes widened, the dog tags…

 

“What are they doing in here?” 

 

Alexia had been there the night before of course… Chris shook his head, gathering the tags in his hand before standing up again and making his way to the hallway again. He thumbed at the cold metal in his hands, a slight frown making its way onto his face. He stood in front of his bedroom staring at the mug that was now in his hand. Opening his bedroom door, Chris was confronted by cold air hitting his face.

 

He let out a much needed breath of air and made his way over to the bedside table, placing the dog tags down and making his way over to the desk on the other side of the room. He placed the mug down on the coffee mat and slumped into the chair, cringing at the dragging sound the chair made every time it moved.

 

The sheets of paper beside him on the desk were towering slightly, almost settling just below Chris’ shoulder. He opened up his laptop, waiting for it to load as he took a sip of coffee. He remembered when Piers had been there that one time… He wasn’t sure how long ago it was, but it was a happier memory than most.

 

_ Chris sat at his desk, the clock showed that the time was well beyond midnight, the faint glow of the laptop screen flickered as the background changed. _

 

_ Chris tapped his fingers on the keys, light enough to make a sound, but not heavy enough to type anything. The keys were rather loud, sounding almost like a typewriter. He looked up at the sound of tapping on his closed bedroom door, then hummed as it stopped, signalling the person's entry. _

 

_ Piers walked through the door, his hair was slightly disheveled, and in his hands he held the last cup of coffee of the night. He rubbed at his tired eyes with a free hand, making his way over to Chris’ desk. _

 

_ “Ya know... “ Piers started, setting the cup on the surface before turning to lean on the back of Chris’ chair. _

 

_ “You should take a break… It’s not healthy to be typing all night.” He motioned towards the screen with his left hand, “Besides, it’s like…” He leaned forwards, resting his chin on Chris’ shoulder, “2:36 in the morning, Captain…” He stood up straight again, stretching his hands above his head. _

 

_ “Tell you what.” He said, making his way to the other side of the desk. “I finish this up, and you get some well-earned rest… Okay?” Piers leaned on the desk, watching as Chris took another sip of coffee from the cup. _

 

_ Chris looked at his bed behind him, pushing away from the desk and standing up. “You’d do that for me?” Chris asked, rubbing the back of his neck, “I’m not sure if I should let you… I mean, it’s my work.” _

 

_ “Think of it this way, you’ll have less work to do in the morning should I not finish it. If I do finish it however, you’ll have more time to do as you please.” Piers placed a hand on Chris’ shoulder, giving a sincere smile, then beaming when Chris accepted his request. _

 

_ Chris didn’t actually sleep that night, he had been too occupied watching Piers type away at the documents, he held back a scoff when Piers had let out a laugh, presumably at his work. But he let it slide, because this was Piers… and he loved Piers. _

 

Chris looked up from where he sat, staring at the ceiling as the burning sensation in his eyes returned. The same burning that he had felt at the funeral. He let out a sigh, then glanced at the screen again. It had come to the login screen, he bit his lip before he typed in the password and was sent to the home screen. It was the entirety of the B.S.A.A. Piers and the rest of the previous Alpha team included. Smiles were etched onto everyone’s faces. Including those very few from Terrasave that had decided to visit that day.

 

Chris shook his head, taking another sip of coffee, that time it was more rushed, and he almost choked on it, had it not been for the fact he took a few breaths before hand.

 

He pressed his fingers against the keys, pulling the first sheet off the pile and placing it in front of his laptop. The keys tapped away for the rest of the morning, ignoring the protests of the weather outside and Claire knocking on the door.

 

\--------

 

_ “Piers, open the goddamn door! THAT’S AN ORDER!” Chris yelled, his throat was already sore and his hands were starting to hurt from hitting the round window of the pod. Piers appeared on the other side of the window, his face contorted into one of regret and hurt. He didn’t speak, he didn’t move. He tried to stay in control, keeping his breathing steady and only staring into Chris’ eyes. _

 

_ The sound of the pod getting ready to leave made Chris look at Piers with sorrow. He had already lost his entire team, he didn’t think he had the room to lose another.  _

 

_ “No…” Piers shook his head slightly, curling his lips into a sincere smile.  _

 

_ The pod took off, Chris slamming his hand against the wall, crying out Piers’ name till his voice went hoarse. He fought the need to cry as he went silent. He lowered his head, muttering a silent curse.  _

 

_ The glass in front of him shattered, making his hands bleed, the blaring of an alarm ringing in his ears. _

 

Chris’ eyes shot open and he lifted his head up, he felt a piercing pain in his left hand. He turned to look at it, and upon seeing that the shattered glass of the mug had cut his hand he let out a rather irritated groan. At least the mug was empty.

 

“Damn it.” Chris sighed, clenching his fist and watching as more blood trickled out of the wound. A sudden knock sounded at Chris’ door, Claire’s worried voice came from the other side. 

 

“Chris… Are you okay. I’m coming in.” The door opened, revealing a rather scared Claire. Chris looked back, watching as Claire made her way over to the desk Chris was at. Chris figured Claire had seen the blood as she was running out the room again. Chris took this time to grab the bin from beside his desk and clear the glass from the desk. He hissed as the wound opened up more.

 

“Hang on.” Claire appeared by Chris side with a gauze and some disinfectant. Chris pulled his hand away, giving an annoyed groan. Claire pulled Chris’ hand towards her, undoing the lid of the disinfectant and pouring a bit onto Chris hand. 

 

“FUCK!” Chris grit his teeth together, trying to suppress the scream that wanted to escape his lips. His hand shook slightly as Claire inspected the wounds.

 

“Crap… You’re gonna need stitches. I’ll be right back.”

 

Chris nodded, watching his sister walk out the room. He turned to his still open laptop, looking at the screen, it wasn’t damaged at all, the documents were finished… just. He slid his good hand onto the trackpad, hovering over the save button. He bit his lip, giving it one last over look before clicking the button and waiting for it to save. After it had done so, he closed the laptop. Claire appeared at his side again, this time with a needle and thread. He eyed the needle, determining whether it had been cleaned or not. Claire gave a chuckle.

 

“I have cleaned it. I just want let you know… It’s gonna hurt.” Claire gave a rather sympathetic smile, probably in an attempt to reassure Chris. He gave a snort. 

 

“Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had stitches.” Chris looked away from Claire and towards the photo frame standing next to his laptop. A photo of Piers and himself stood in the frame. Piers seemed to be smiling, and wrapping his arm around Chris’ shoulder. Chris had been doing the same, but using Piers as a support. He looked down at the date. 

 

_ 2012 _

 

Around the time of the Marhawa Academy incident. Chris sighed. They’d lost Merah Biji and Piers had been devastated. But everyone had tried to keep the smiles on their faces. Why? Because that’s what their teammates would’ve wanted.

 

“It’s best to not think of him right now…” Claire sighed. Chris held the picture and placed it face down on the desk. Turning back to Claire and awaiting the stitching to commence. He looked at his hand and found that it was already stitched. Claire was wrapping the gauze around his hand, slowly in a figure of eight almost. She grabbed the stapler from the desk and stapled the gauze into place.

 

“Done.” Claire smiled at her work, before looking at Chris.

 

“Now what happened?” Chris looked away, biting his lip in an act of protest. “Nightmare?” Claire pushed, placing her hand on Chris’ shoulder. Chris shrugged her hand off, turing and getting off the chair. 

 

“Don’t worry about it.” Chris said, walking over to the door.

 

“I’m your sister…” Claire chuckled, “I’m meant to worry.”

 

Chris shook his head, walking out of the room and into the hallway. He glanced out the landing window. The light took over the sky. It was clearly almost afternoon, that much he could tell. 

 

“It’s almost twelve…” Claire confirmed, shutting the bedroom door behind her, “I was gonna come and get you anyway… seeing as you hadn’t come down for breakfast.”

 

Chris looked downstairs, setting his feet on the top steps. He heard talking from the floor below. 

 

“Alex and Susanna popped round.” Claire said from behind, placing a hand on Chris’ shoulder.

 

“Huh…” Chris grunted, stumbling down the stairs and making his way into the living room. He sat down on the sofa and watched the heart-melting display of affection being shared between the two women.

 

“I love you.” echoed in the room, before Chris cleared his throat and caught his guests’ attention. Their heads turned towards him swiftly, Chris could almost hear the click in Alexia’s neck as she rolled it suddenly.

 

“Chris? We didn’t hear you come in,” Alexia smiled apologetically placing a hand on who seemed to be Susanna’s shoulder, “you remember Susanna, right?” She pulled Susanna into a side hug, almost embracing her.

 

“Your college crush from two years ago, yeah… how could I not?” Chris said, waving a hand and giving a smug grin as he watched the expression on Alexia’s face change dramatically.

 

Susanna turned to face Alexia, eyes wide, “You had a crush on me two years ago?!” she sounded baffled, “and you  **never** told me?” Her face suddenly softened as she pinched Alexia’s scarlet cheek and gave a loud “awww”.

Chris chuckled at the display, shaking his head. 

 

Claire entered the room holding two coffee’s, then placed them on the coffee table, slumping on the couch next to Chris then shuffling to get comfortable. 

 

“What are you two doing here anyway?” Chris asked, getting a scolding slap to the knee from Claire as well as a glare.

 

“Well…” Alexia started, scratching at the back of her neck, “I was wondering if I could talk to you for a bit - outside.” She gestured through the window with her thumb before shrugging her shoulders.

 

“Sure… I don’t see why not. Let’s go.” Chris pushed himself up from the sofa, stretching his arms and making his way over to the front door. 

 

Alexia was by his side after a few seconds, tapping his shoulders and whispering in his ear, 

 

“It’s about Piers…”

 

Chris stopped, dropping his shoes onto the floor.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ohhh it's been a while hasn't it? I feel bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All aboard the feels train?? I guess.

Alexia sat herself down on the bench on the roof of hers and Susanna’s apartment. The wooden surface was cold against the small of her back under the thin black blouse she wore. The velvet cover of dots covered the sky in a parade of shimmering stars. It managed to tare Alexia’s eyes away from the potted plant sat on the brick wall of the roof, with leaves that were wilted by lack water and warmth. She still had no idea how she had managed to drag Chris, all the way to her apartment just so they could talk.

 

The door to the roof creaked open behind her as she pulled her hood up. She rubbed her eyes, checking for any tears. When her hands pulled back dry, she turned to the door to see Chris hunched over and catching his breath.

 

“You,” he said, standing up straight and pointing a finger at Alexia, “are a quick walker… Slow the fuck down next time.” A chuckle left his lips as he walked forwards with long and slow paces. He paused by the bench that Alexia was sat on as she opened her mouth to talk.

 

“I’m known for my quick walking. When I was in 8th grade, I would walk to school with a friend of mine, and at the beginning, I was slow-”

 

“Really?!” Chris chimed in.

 

“Yes. Now shut up.” Alexia grinned at the dismayed expression that Chris seemed to be pulling, “Anyways, so she would walk  **really** quickly… like to the point where I found it difficult to walk at the same pace as her; nonetheless, as time went on, I started to catch up with her. When that happened in 10th grade I believe… I think she started to purposefully slow down for me… I’m not sure.” She sighed, letting her lips pull into a smile. “Piers told me, that if I continued to walk at such a quick pace, I’d be able to out-walk most of the men in Alpha team.”

 

Chris raised a hand placing it on his chest just where his heart was, “And as a member of Alpha team… You can in fact out-walk the quickest walker.” Chris seemed to smile at the mentioning of Piers, so Alexia took this into account and continued to talk. She looked up to the sky, now full of stars, blinking like the eyes of all the previous soldiers from almost lifetimes ago.

 

“It’s beautiful, no?” Alexia asked, tilting her head towards the general direction of where Chris now sat but not actually averting her eyes from the stars. She heard a hum in reply and felt that was a hint to continue, “me and Piers would sit out on the roof of our apartment and stare at the stars for hours at a time almost. Once,” she said, now averting her eyes to look at Chris directly, “We sat out on that roof for so long, that it was actually dawn when we finally managed to snap out of our trances. Then again, most of the time, we would just sit there and talk about our days: how they went, how we would change our day… shit like that-“

 

“Oh God… never let Piers chose how he would change his day.” Alexia laughed along with Chris and let her hoodie fall, along with it her hair going frizzy around her face.

 

“I know it all too well.” Alexia agreed, nodding her head along with Chris.

 

“You know… You never told me how you met Piers right?” Alexia felt her smile drop instantly at the mentioning. She shook her head, biting her lip.

 

“I’m not sure I’ve even told Claire about that yet…” Alexia folded her arms around herself, then looked up at the sky. “Has Piers ever broken a promise?”

 

“No… Why?” A suspicious tone twisted into Chris’ words, letting it slither into the air.

 

“He has with me… Relatively recent too.” Alexia blinked a few times upon feeling her eyes burn slightly. “When he found you in Edonia, he called me. When he did that and told me of the situation, the first thing I asked him was, ‘Do you promise to come _home after this has happened?”_

 

_Piers chuckled down the phone, a audible smile on his face. “Alex, I’ll be fine. I’ll come home.”_

 

 _Alexia frowned at the lack of two certain words before speaking into the mic again, “Do you_ **_promise_ ** _?” Her mouth opened to speak again at the lack of noise but closed it again upon hearing a sigh from the other side of the phone._

 

_“I promise… But if anything bad was to happen, try to keep the apartment in shape, or you can move in with Susanna… Just be safe.”_

 

_“You too.” She sighed before quickly adding, “Love you, Piers.” She heard a hum from Piers and  quick ‘Love you too’ before the line went dead and Alexia dropped the phone on the floor._

 

“He never came back,” Alexia lifted a hand to wipe the tears in her eyes, “even after he promised.” She turned and looked Chris in the eye then said, “He’d never broken a promise, yet-” Alexia stopped, breaking down into a fit of sobs as she felt Chris hesitantly wrap an arm around her, then pull her towards him. She heard the hushes he gave her, as sobs still wracked her body.

 

Alexia knew she’d be like this after a bad encounter with fate. Her emotions would try to overthrow her, and Alexia would always try to fight a losing battle in order to keep her emotions in check. Chris rubbed his hand over Alexia’s arm, soothing her silently.

 

“You know…” He began, pulling his arm back and placing his hand into his pocket, “in all honesty, I cried when Piers didn’t join me in that pod… But without him doing what he did do, we wouldn’t be here right now.” Alexia looked up at Chris, sitting up straight, then glanced down at Chris’ hand that was holding a bloodied discarded B.S.A.A badge. “Piers had forced this into my hand before pushing me into that pod… I didn’t realize what he was doing at the time, he gave me that look of - of pure pain… I could- **see** him struggling to look me in the eye.” He paused, glancing down at the badge before placing it in his pocket and pulling his hands to his neck.

 

“And to be honest - If piers was here right now,” Chris pulled the dog tags from his neck and placed them in Alexia’s hand, “He’d probably want you to have these.” Chris smiled slightly. Alexia’s eyes widened as she felt the chains in her hands.

 

“Thank you.” She wrapped her arms around Chris’ shoulders, then dug her chin into Chris’ neck.

 

The door to the roof creaked open again, causing Alexia to break from the hug and glare at the intruder.

 

“Is everything okay up here?” Susanna’s voice rung onto the roof, into the ears of those who needed to hear it. Alexia merely nodded before beckoning her closer and standing to peck her on the lips.

 

“Hey.” Alexia whispered, snuggling into the new source of comfort.

 

“Claire’s alright with me being here. I may or may not have followed you here.” Susanna smiled sheepishly, both at Chris and Alexia.

 

The first rumble of thunder came from about a mile away, but it was able to alert the three people of the oncoming storm. The stars were beginning to be covered by the masses of grey clouds. The sight alone managed to elicit a sigh from the three.

 

“I guess we should make our way then.” Chris groaned, standing up and stretching. He shoved his hands into his pockets, turning on his heel towards the door of the roof. “I’ll give Claire a call so she can pick me up.”

 

“Chris.” Alexia said, causing Chris to turn in question, he hummed and Alexia held up the dog tags.

 

“You can keep them. I figured that being his sister, you’d want at least something to remind you of him.” Chris gave a lopsided side smile before nodding and making his way through the door of the roof as another rumble of thunder came from behind them.

 

Alexia held the tags against her chest with both her hands, almost hugging them, so it came to no surprise when she found that Chris was holding the door open for her. A quick “Cheers” left her lips as she walked through, Susanna was following relatively close by.

 

They made their way down the stairs, the two girls stopped by their apartment door and nodded to Chris, who waved silently to them and proceeded to walk down the other sets of stairs.

 

“Shall we?” Susanna motioned to the door, opening it and almost pushing her partner into the room.

 

Alexia made her way through the apartment, pushing through the door and pulling the dog tags onto her. She smiled, shivering slightly as the cold metal brushed against the skin of her neck. She shoved her hands into her pockets then drew her phone out of one, clicking the home button to check the time,

 

_5:47pm_

 

“Babe?” Alexia turned her head to look towards the kitchen and found that Susanna was already walking through with what looked to be dinner. Two slices of deep-dish pizza sat on each plate, steam rose from each plate in delicate lines, perishing into the air as it reached a certain point.

 

“Ahh... “ Alexia sighed, taking in the smell of the food being given to her, “you are a lifesaver.” Susanna chuckled at the statement before placing a hand over her heart.

 

“Why thank you, my dear Alexia.” Susanna broke out into a fit of giggles which was almost muffled behind her hand. Alexia nodded, biting into her pizza, which almost melted as it touched her tongue. She let a moan of delight escape through her lips suddenly, the sound reverberated into the rest of the living room, causing Susanna to glare at Alexia, “You enjoying that?” The latter nodded enthusiastically, before swallowing her food and saying,

 

“Homemade? Please say it is.” Alexia almost had a pleading tone melting into her voice, as she proceeded to lay her head upon Susanna’s lap. She heard a hum from above her, followed by a quick “yes” and she dug into her pizza again. This time letting out another teasing moan.

 

“Babe?”

 

“Yesh?” Alexia gave her best puppy eyes to try and get Susanna to drop her plate right then and there so she could drag her to the bedroom.

 

“Stop having sex with your food.” Susanna’s eyes were still appointed to the pizza as she took small bites from it, almost in a thinking matter.

 

“Hey,” Alexia turned around, trying not to knock anything onto the floor, “what’s wrong?” Her eyes tried to search Susanna’s own, which proved to be difficult as they were not looking towards her. The sudden change of atmosphere flooded the room, and Alexia felt a sudden wave of cold as she looked down at her arms at the sudden electricity surrounding her. She couldn’t feel the surge through her arms but saw the blinding blue light echo in the room.

 

It went white.

 

Alexia woke suddenly, she was in her bed, still in the apartment… luckily. Taking in deep breaths, she looked next to her, the spot in the bed where Susanna would’ve been lying was cold and empty. Thunder rumbled throughout the apartment and Alexia jumped, letting out a small yelp, as Susanna came walking into the room in her pajamas. Her eyes were concentrated on her phone screen as she typed words with her thumbs. Susanna looked up, locking eyes with Alexia as she made her way to the bed. She pulled the cover up that was on her side and she climbed in, turning so that she was facing the other.

 

“Hey.” She mumbled, twisting to place the phone on the bedside table. When she had done so, she twisted to look at Alexia again, who felt her eyes go heavy. Susanna scooted forwards, the weight of her causing the bed to dip slightly, and Alexia to roll into the inviting arms of her companion. “Go to sleep, sweety.”

 

\-----

 

Alexia held onto Susanna’s hand as they walked around town, looking through the windows of the shops for anything they wanted to buy. Alexia wore her olive green bomber jacket along with her black turtleneck shirt and high-waisted camo trousers. Her black boots stopped her from slipping on some of the black ice that had turned up earlier that day; the latter however, wore a grey three-quarter length top with black jeans, a cream coloured scarf and a cream coloured button-up coat. Her shoes weren’t giving her the balance she wanted, so Susanna found herself having to rely on Alexia for support.

 

Susanna yelped as she slipped on the ice again, Alexia managing to catch her in time with her other hand. She leaned forwards, letting out a muffled scream as she felt herself being lifted up.

 

“You really are bad with this weather aren’t you?” Alexia chuckled, receiving a pout from the girl in her arms. Her fringe covered her eye again. Susanna leaned up pecking Alexia’s cheek.

 

“Alexia?”

 

The girl in question looked up to the voice, to find a short blonde girl talking to her.

 

“Sherry?” Her eyes averted to the guy standing next to her as she placed Susanna on her feet again, “who are you?” The guys eyes narrowed as he took a step forward, Sherry intercepted his steps, talking before anything else could be said,

 

“This is Jake Muller. We were just looking for Chris, I was hoping you’d seen him recently…”

 

“Uh… why?” Chris’ voice came from the doorway of the shop they were stood in front of, “Sherry… Jake? What are you two doing here?” Alexia and Susanna took a few steps back, allowing Chris to join the conversation fully.

 

Sherry exchanged a glance with Jake, who started to speak, looking over Chris’ shoulder, “Where’s the puppy? Piers was it? I was half expecting him to pop up beside you, Chris.”

 

Alexia felt the cold rush over her as she saw Chris’ eyes go downcast. Jake raised an eyebrow at the display, all the while Alexia was thinking of what to say.

 

“He’s gone… He- he died in the Lanshiang incident.” Alexia clamped her mouth shut, mentally cursing after saying it, watching as everyone turned to look at her. Jake turned to her with widened eyes, he then looked to Chris, taken aback as he placed a hand on the man’s shoulder.

 

“Sorry for your loss mate.”

 

Sherry walked forwards and wrapped her arms around the much larger frame of Chris, rubbing his back in a comforting manner. She then pulled back, grabbing at Jakes’ hand as he was hesitantly pulling away.

 

“We’ll leave you be then.” Sherry whispered, nodding towards the three who stood there and walking back the way they came.

 

\-----

 

“Do you normally do that?” Chris asked, his hands were shoved in his pockets.

 

Alexia turned towards him, eyes meeting his in a cold glare, “What do you mean?”

 

The room was empty, Susanna had left to go home and Claire wasn’t expected to return home for another ten-or-so minutes. There was a heavy tension laying in the room, all of the corners were filled with this tension, their breathing was multiplied, until Chris threw the first punch.

 

Alexia leaped back, holding her hands up in a stopping motion, as she rolled into the hallway. Chris followed her there, hand balled into fists as he ran into the hallway.

 

“Easy, Chris… What-”

 

“Do you tell everyone about people’s past?”

 

Another punch thrown, another dodge.

 

“I wasn’t doing that to hurt you, I was just telling the truth.” Alexia stepped backwards, making her way into the kitchen, the cold linoleum floors made no change to the temperature in her feet as they were covered by socks. Her hands were held in front of her.

 

“Oh really?” Chris growled, he managed to get a hold of Alexia’s jacket as he threw her across the room. She landed by the pantry, the end table holding alcohol wobbled as Alexia made contact with it, the glasses fell onto the floor, shattering upon contact.

 

“Shit-” Alexia groaned holding her head in her hands. She looked at Chris who had stopped, probably waiting for Alexia to stand up, “look… I know some things are meant to be left unsaid-”

 

“Exa-”

 

“-However,” Alexia paused to take a deep breath, “something as serious as that. The situation with Piers,” Chris growled, “needs to be in the open. So that way we can get it off our chests-” Alexia stood up on wobbling feet, clutching her hip with one hand, as her other was held out in front of her “-and not have to worry about this.”

 

Chris charged at her again, almost landing a punch as Alexia ducked, pushing off her foot and making a beeline for the hallway again. Chris growled behind her, grabbing a gleaming object in his hand as Alexia managed to reach the back door.

 

The cold air hit her face as she ran into the snow covered lawn. Her feet started to grow cold at the sudden assault as snow was thrown around her. The wind howled in her ears as she fought to hear Chris footsteps in the snow.

 

“Chris?” Alexia called into the snow, turning rapidly in hopes to find Chris. She saw a glint of metal beside her and rolled out of the way, covering herself in snow and shivering violently. A breath left her, clearing the snow from her vision as Chris’ face came into view. Her feet kicked at the snow, pushing her back against the fence. Her breath now came in pants as she held a ball of snow in her hand.

 

“Would you fight Piers in these circumstances?! Would you, Chris?” She threw the snow at Chris, taking the chance to get up and stumble as far away as she could, before sliding and taking the knife out of Chris hand and throwing it into the hallway of the house, it hit the floorboards with a ‘clang’. Alexia let out a breath of relief upon knowing that this fight was without weapons now.

 

“Come on Chris, I don’t want to fight you.” Alexia yelled, hissing afterwards at the sudden stinging sensation from her hand. She looked at it seeing the blood coming from her hand and dripping onto the snow.

 

She felt a hand snake onto her neck and lift her up. Her eyes widened, growing wet from the cold.

 

“Please don’t do this.” She pleaded, her voice was raspy from the grip around her neck tightening. Chris ignored her bringing his other hand around to grab at the chains on her neck.

 

“No-Pl-please no-”

 

“THAT IS ENOUGH!” Claire pushed Chris, letting Alexia fall to the floor and grasp at her throat in desperation. The snow had stopped falling now, only the occasional flake fell into the piles of white around them. Claire knelt by Alexia, inspecting the fresh red mark on her neck.

 

“I have had it with the pair of you.”

 

Chris stood, his eyes going soft, he made a move towards Alexia but stopped when she flinched back, grabbing at the almost broken chains around her neck.

 

Claire stood up again, giving a hand to Alexia and pulling her up.

 

“We’re going to China. You two are going to settle your differences and get over this.” Claire pointed at the two before continuing, “This… Is not something I expect from you. How do you think Piers would react?”

 

Both looked down at the floor, guilt flooding their veins.

 

“Alex, go inside I’ll fix your hand up. Chris, you are going to clean up the glass and blood in the kitchen while I patch up Alex.” Chris stood still, “Now!”

 

Chris walked inside, turning into the kitchen and ignoring Alexia completely as she reached a hand out to apologize.

 

“Ignore him for now… come on.” Claire led Alexia up stairs, taking her to the bathroom to patch her up.

 

\----

Chris slumped against the kitchen wall, weakly pounding a fist against it as a photo fell onto the floor and shattered. He leaned down and picked it up, frowning out the picture fell away from the frame. He looked at the photo.

 

Piers, Alexia, Claire and himself stood in the photo smiling at the camera. Before Chris could look at it further, his feeble attempt to throw left him in a pile on the floor, digging his nails into his hair at another loss of control.

 

He looked up at the ceiling.

 

“I’m sorry Piers…”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rather short chapter ugh. Shorter than most that's for sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

Alexia sat in the shower, letting the hot water wash over her bare skin, bruised from the fight previously. The room was surrounded by steam, the only sound hearable was the pounding of water against a tiled floor.

 

_ “We’re going to China. You two are going to settle your differences and get over this.”  _

 

Alexia rested her head against the wall, a small tune erupted into her mind as her mouth formed the words and let them out into the air.

 

_ “Atop the crags and cliffs the air is thin _

_ So we'll find a mountain path on down the hill _

_ Meet me where the snow melts flows _

_ It is there, my dear, where we'll begin again _

_ Skipping stones, braiding hair _

_ Last years antlers mark the trail- _

 

_ -Take us back, Oh! take us back, Oh! take us: Take us back! _

_ Take us back, Oh! take us ba- back”  _ Alexia let her arms curl around her knees as she tugged them to her chest and sobbed. Each staggered breath she took made the smell of water stronger to her senses. 

 

The bathroom door clicked unlocked after the knocking of Claire came from the other side. 

 

“I’m coming in…” Claire spoke freely, and turned around to close the door behind her. Upon seeing Alexia’s back facing her, she walked up to the still sobbing girl, unaware of her sobbing. She saw her shoulders shake, and said, “Are you okay?” Her eyebrows were curled upwards, in a worried manner as she placed a hand on Alexia’s shoulder, causing her to jump at the contact. The sound of the sobbing ceased immediately, replaced by harsh sniffles. 

 

“Claire? Is that you?” Alexia’s raspy voice came from in front of Claire, she tried to catch a glimpse into the mirror of Alexia’s face, though, as an arm had fell to the side and was now twisting Alexia around, Claire thought against it, feeling that enough had happened as of recent and that she needn’t say anything.

 

“Is it about Piers?” Was all Claire could hope to ask at the moment. Alexia bit her lip, nodding slowly, her drenched hair flicked water onto Claire’s jeans at the movement but she felt no need to be angry, Alexia was upset as it was. Her eyes were red and puffy from the crying that hadn’t long stopped, her face was red, most likely from the heat of the water. How long had she been sat there? That answer, Claire did not know.

 

“Come on, Alex, let get you patched up.” Claire grasped Alexia’s hands in her own and tugged on them, pulling her to her feet before she had the chance to slip. She grabbed the towel from beside the shower and wrapped Alexia in it, tying a small knot where the two corners of the towel met. “Just try to ignore Chris at the moment, okay?” Alexia gave a brief nod before following Claire to her room, and sitting on her chair, suddenly shivering from the change of heat.

 

\-------

 

Susanna sat next to Alexia on the roof of their apartment, listening to the low whistle of the wind as it passed them. Fingers instinctively clasped to one another, as the silence between them grew thick.

 

“We’ll be going to China tomorrow…” Alexia said, pulling Susanna’s hand into her lap. She could feel the other freeze up slightly, as she turned to look at the reaction. Susanna’s eyes were wide, her head slightly tilted to the side in an act of confusion. Her mouth was opened slightly, letting a small breath in a feeble attempt to talk.

 

“It won’t be for too long!” Alexia started, raising her voice in worry, “A week at most.” Alexia looked back towards the other buildings. She shook her head. Offering her free hand to the still shocked girl in front of her she mumbled a quick, “I love you?”

 

Susanna took the hand and brought it to her lips, pressing a kiss against the knuckles. Then giving a small smile, she brought the hand to her cheek and nuzzled it, pressing a smaller kiss to the palm of her hand. “As long as you’re not stupid, I don’t see why you shouldn’t be able to go.” A chuckle left her lips as Alexia pulled her to her chest.

 

\-------

 

Two panting figures lay on the bed, legs tangled and hands entwined securely, upon fear of letting go. They were tired, the suitcase that hadn’t long been packed sat at the foot of the bed, left alone after the two had collapsed.

 

“You need to get a new suitcase, Alex.” Susanna said between breaths, her face was tinted red and beads of sweat rolled down her forehead. She shifted on the sheets, gripping the hand of Alexia tightly in her own. “That was very difficult to open and close.” She dropped a hand from the grip, peering at the red fabric marks strewn across her palm, before turning it to Alexia, who grabbed it and placed her lips against the redness. The latter sighed, rolling onto her back and releasing the girl in her arms so she could reach to the forgotten phone that lay on the bedside table.

 

The phone buzzed in her hands, the phone screen turning on and showing the appearance of ‘ _ 1 new message. _ ’ Alexia shook her head, chucking the phone to her feet, before pushing herself up into a sitting position and reaching for the phone again. Seeing a hand reach for her own, she stopped, and turned to look at Susanna, who had pulled her hand back and placed it into her lap with the other. 

 

“Do you have to go?” Susanna asked, her eyebrows pulled into a downwards curve, and her eyelids lowered as a way to hide her not-so-noticable tears. Alexia stared in return, no words leaving her lips in betrayal. She reached her hands out, pulling Susanna onto her lap as she had done several times before.

 

Her lips placed themselves against Susanna’s ruby-red hair before she mumbled softly, “If I didn’t go... Claire would probably kill me.” She pulled back at the shiver, seeing the tears running down Susanna’s cheeks, “Hey, hey don’t cry!” Alexia panicked, placing chaste kissed against Susanna’s cheeks and trying to rid of the tears. “We’ll be back before you know it.” 

 

At this Susanna pulled back from the kisses, rubbing at her arm in an attempt to soothe herself. She opened her mouth to speak when Alexia gave a quick “I promise,” ; and she closed it again, instead resting her chin against Alexia’s shoulder and sticking her tongue out.

 

“Don’t get sassy with me, missy.” Alexia said jokingly, chuckling as Susanna blew raspberries against her ear. Neither of them remembered the constant buzzing of the phone on the covers.

 

\-------

 

The airport was loud, people bustling around to get to their flights or to simply get out of the place. Alexia was one of those who were trying to get onto the plane. Chris and Claire stood either side, standing a little taller than herself. Behind her, her hands clutched onto her suitcase, only carrying a few belongings as she knew they wouldn’t be in China for too long.

 

They reached the woman at the booth, who looked up and locked eyes with Chris. 

 

“May I help you.” She asked, hands steady over her keyboard. Her glasses slid down the bridge of her nose. A nimble finger reached to push them up as Chris pulled out the three tickets. From what Alexia could see, the woman’s lips tugged up at the sight of them, and her fingers proceeded to press onto the keys, eyes still focusing on the tickets Chris help. She moved a hand to her mouse and moved it around, searching for something. Suddenly she pulled back and reached for the tickets, stamping each one and returning them. 

 

“Enjoy your flight, MR. Redfield.” She bowed her head slightly, motioning a hand towards the now opening metal detector gates.

 

Chris nodded back, clutching Alexia’s shoulder and rubbing it. He looked down at her, “You sure you’re okay with this?” He quirked an eyebrow. Letting it settle high above his eye. 

 

Alexia hummed, letting her eyes wander back to the floor, “It  _ is  _ my first flight out of here… but I should be okay, Chris.”

 

The hand that was on her shoulder lifted off, and a small grunt could be heard. Suddenly, Chris’ feet began to move away, and Alexia made a move to scramble towards him. From behind her, Claire made no move to stop her, letting her run ahead.

 

Alexia stopped at the gate with Chris, pulling her suitcase from behind her and - following the example prior - proceeded to place it on the belt. Chris placed his belongings into a box that was settled a little ways ahead of Alexia’s suitcase, and stepped through the metal detector. No sound came through, however when inspecting the belongings in the box, the guard poked at an item perhaps Chris and Claire knew about. The guard picked up the nine-oh-nine from the plastic container, then turned to glare at Chris. 

 

Chris reached into his pocket, pulling out some form of identification and flipped it open, revealing a picture, a name and a name of business. The guard immediately placed the gun into the plastic container and let it roll through the smaller gate. Alexia smiled, walking up to the now clear container, placing her belongings into it, including a keyring holding her and Susanna’s photo, before stepping away and moving towards the gate. The guard motioned for her to step through the gate before the light went red and denied her access, beeping rather loudly in Alexia’s ears.

Alexia looked down at her boot straight away out of instinct, stepping back and kneeling so she could pull the blade by the groove in the metal. She lifted it to show the guard then placed it into the box, cursing to herself. Again she proceeded to move through the reset gate and let a breath of relief escape her when no sound occured. Chris stepped forwards sending a glare to the guard who let the box roll through. The suitcase followed the box, being scanned for any foreign items. 

 

Alexia pulled her sheath for the blade out her her sock and waited for the box to come through. Stealing a glance from Claire who glared at her made her look away guiltily.

 

She walked to the end of the belt, where she collected all of her belongings again and slotted the knife into the sheath where it was then put into her sock, prepared for later use. Alexia also grabbed for her suitcase, lifting it off the belt and onto the floor. Claire joined them not too long after, sighing in defeat as she looked to the ground.

 

“Guess we all brought a weapon huh?” She chuckled humorously, placing a hand on her hip as the other rested against her forehead, massaging it.

 

“You better have some stuff to eat Alex. Cause we are in for a  **long** flight.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm open to criticism??
> 
> But really, feel free to give me criticism.
> 
>  
> 
> I'll try to post within the next few days or so... But no promises.


End file.
